19
The War Cry | SEPTEMBER 2014
Batterer Intervention Programs
A
t this writing, at least 1,500
batterer intervention pro-
grams exist in the United
States and the number continues to
grow.
Men attending these programs
are overwhelmingly court�referred.
Battering is viewed as learned be-
havior that is primarily motivated by
a desire, whether conscious or uncon-
scious, by the abuser to control the
victim. Attempts to enforce male pre-
rogatives regarding housework, child-
care, sex, or emotional caretaking,
may appear to be irrational and spon-
taneous outbursts, but the battering
behavior has an underlying logic.
Some state and jurisdictions de-
veloped new guidelines relating to
police and court responses to domes-
tic violence. While these protocols
vary from state to state, they have in
common the dual goals of protecting
victims and increasing accountabil-
ity for perpetrators. Many states have
developed certification standards
for batterer intervention programs.
Certified programs employ a vari-
ety of techniques for helping clients
avoid violence and learn nonabusive
behavior. One of the most common
techniques is teaching, or otherwise
promoting, alternatives to abuse
such as listening, supporting and
validating one's partner, recognizing
other people's perspectives, compro-
mising, and practicing self�reflec-
tion and self�care. Abusers are also
taught to become more aware of their
physical tendencies and thoughts
that lead to violence so they can take
steps to refrain and redirect them-
selves. Men are also taught to identify
self�defeating thoughts in response
to interactions with their partners.
Programs cannot bring about
change if there is not growing in-
tolerance of the abuse of women
within the community as a whole.
Many certified programs partici-
pate in coordinated community re-
sponses to domestic violence that
bring agencies and individuals to-
gether to plan for positive outcomes.
common the dual goals of protecting
t
c
t
w
M
p
b
g
960,000
estimated
DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE
incidents reported
in one year
v
43%
OF
SHELTERS
had to decrease
services offered due
to funding cutbacks.
World Health Organization (WHO)�
Prevention of Intimate Partner and
Sexual Violence (Domestic Violence):
www.who.int/violence_injury_
prevention/violence/sexual/en/
US Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention :
www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/
sexualviolence/index.html
www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/
intimatepartnerviolence/index.html
www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/
intimatepartnerviolence/resources.html
RESOURCES