NCJ Number
173547
Date Published
1996
Length
184 pages
Annotation
This report presents the main findings of a 3-year British study designed to compare the effects of various criminal justice sanctions for men convicted of an offense that involved violence against their female partner.
Abstract
In the United Kingdom there are only two criminal justice re-education programs for such violent men: CHANGE, which was established in the former Central Region of Scotland in September 1989, and the Lothian Domestic Violence Probation Project (LDVPP), which was begun in Edinburgh in 1990. CHANGE and the LDVPP are community-based programs designed to re-educate men who have been found guilty of violence against their female partners. The men attend weekly sessions as a condition of their probation order. The projects' aims are broadly similar, as are the goals of the weekly re-education programs. The programs are intended to enhance men's understanding of their violent acts and belief systems; to increase men's willingness to change; to improve men's understanding of the causes of violence; to provide practical information about changing abusive behavior; and to encourage men to become accountable to others for their abuse of women partners. In assessing the effectiveness of these programs, the researchers used a quasi-experimental design in comparing the programs' impact on participants' violent behavior with the effects of other criminal justice sanctions such as fines and probation. The findings show that 12 months after the intervention, a significant proportion of the offenders who participated in the program reduced their violence and related controlling behavior, and their women partners reported significant improvements in the quality of their lives and their relationships with these men. By contrast, men given other criminal justice sanctions were less likely to have reduced their violent and controlling behavior, and their partners were less likely to report an improvement in their quality of life or in the relationship. Extensive tables and figures, 87 references, and appended program materials