Community Domestic Violence Programme

The programme includes work with known victims and inter-agency risk management.

Programme aims:

• To reduce the risk of violent crime and abusive behaviour towards women in relationships by helping perpetrators change their attitudes and behaviour
• To reduce the risk of all violent and abusive behaviour in the family
• To increase the offender’s ability to respond non-abusively, to change abusive beliefs and empathise with victim(s)
• To give offenders a greater sense of personal responsibility for their violence
• To help offenders accept that they exercise choice in the way they behave
• To increase the offender’s ability to identify high-risk situations and to manage these effectively in the future

Who is suitable?

Male offenders who:

• are heterosexual
• have been assessed as a medium to high risk for relationship violence as indicated by severity and/or pattern of abuse using the Spousal Abuse Risk Assessment (SARA)
• have committed at least one act of violence against an intimate partner
• have basic literacy, language compentency and comprehension skills
• are willing to sign a consent form which will inlcude the sharing of relevant information with the offender’s spouse/partner
• are assessed as suitable in a PSR

Who is not suitable?

• Female offenders
• Offenders in same sex relationships
• Offenders with severe mental health issues
• Offenders who are judged unable to meet the learning outcomes because of e.g. severe drug dependency

This programme involves:

• Contact with the victim or current partner by a women’s safety worker
• Risk management through continual assessment and information sharing with other agencies including the police
• Groupwork sessions and at least nine individual sessions with the offender:
  • Three individual pre-programme sessions to enhance motivation
  • 26 groupwork sessions of two hours.  This is sequential and is usually delivered twice a week but can be delivered up to three times per week
  • At least four relapse prevention sessions

The programmes aims to end violence and abuse against participants intimate partners.  Participants will learn about their abusive behaviour and be taught alternative skills and behaviours to help them develop healthy, non abusive relationships.

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