Twenty-Five Years of Change in Working With Partner Abusers--Part I: Observations From the Trenches About Community and System-Level Changes

• NCJ Number: 224395
• Journal: Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma Volume: 16 Issue: 4 Dated: 2008 Pages: 355-375
• Author(s): L. Kevin Hamberger
• Date Published: 2008
• Length: 21 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

In this article, the author reflects on his observations of key community and systemic developments in research on and treatment of perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV).

Abstract

Over the past 25 years, significant change has occurred in how communities and society in general have responded to IPV, particularly regarding holding perpetrators accountable and improving efforts to provide them appropriate treatment. Mandatory arrest of suspected IPV perpetrators has produced significant increases in the number of perpetrators arrested, thus bringing them into a criminal justice venue where those who are guilty of IPV can be held accountable and exposed to mandatory treatment. The yoking of treatment to criminal justice processing has led to the development of a batterer treatment industry largely supported by referrals from the criminal justice system. Questions have arisen however, about the unintended consequences and effectiveness of the criminal justice system’s management of IPV perpetrators; for example, many abuse victims are also arrested for retaliating against the initiator of the abuse. Moreover, there is little evidence that mandatory arrest per se has produced lower recidivism rates. These criticisms suggest that police must receive improved training in the handling of domestic violence incidents in which both partners have engaged in physical attacks. In addition, the development of treatment standards and batterer-treatment provider associations have improved information sharing on proven treatment techniques tailored to various types of batterers. Such mechanisms can also ensure that new research on what works in batterer treatment is disseminated and incorporated into treatment standards and techniques. Care must also be taken not to limit strategies for addressing IPV to the criminal justice system alone. Communities must develop comprehensive programs that address the social conditions and cultural values that promote and prevent IPV. 46 references