NCJ Number
197536
Editor(s)
Robert A. Geffner Ph.D.,
Alan Rosenbaum Ph.D.
Date Published
2001
Length
328 pages
Annotation
This volume, written by experts from all segments of the batterer intervention field, reviews arguments for and against the development of State standards for the treatment of perpetrators of domestic violence, profiles intervention techniques for male and female perpetrators, and provides an overview of research and evaluation pertinent to batterer intervention programs, followed by articles that discuss implications for policies and standards regarding batterer intervention programs.
Abstract
A number of articles argue that the time is not right for the development of rigid and detailed standards for intervention formats and methods concerning domestic violence offenders, given the relatively early stages of program development and evaluation. Articles also review the standards in a number of States, summarizing their strengths and weaknesses. Other articles focus on current program formats and techniques for treating batterers. Attention is given to alternative and unconventional programs, including an approach based in the theory of "stages of change," a couples or conjoint approach, a solution-focused approach, and a modified 12-step, empowerment-based approach. Articles discuss the mechanism by which States create standards for batterer intervention. The goal of such batterer-intervention standards is to reduce violence against women by intimate partners by ensuring that States are offering the most effective, state-of-the-art intervention approaches possible. There is a consensus among the authors of these articles that efforts to develop standards at this relatively early stage of program development should not be based in assumptions that have not been empirically documented through research. Standards that are not empirically based may not only mandate unproven and ineffective treatment approaches, but may also have a chilling effect on innovative intervention efforts. Current standards can help to facilitate interagency coordination, provide guidance for courts' sentencing or diversion of batterers, and suggest directions for program evaluation and development. At this stage, however, standards should stop short of endorsing or excluding specific types and structures for batterer intervention. Chapter tables, figures, and references, and a subject index