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Fathers and Domestic Violence: Building Motivation for Change Through Perpetrator Programmes

NCJ Number
240514
Journal
Child Abuse Review Volume: 21 Issue: 4 Dated: July - August 2012 Pages: 264-274
Author(s)
Nicky Stanley; Nicola Graham-Kevan; Rachel Borthwick
Date Published
August 2012
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This paper examined a perpetrators' program to explore ways in which men's roles and constructions of themselves as fathers can contribute to enhanced motivation to change abusive behavior.
Abstract
Men's intersecting identities as fathers and as perpetrators of domestic violence are increasingly acknowledged in research and practice and children's social services are referring such men to perpetrator programs. This paper draws on the evaluation of a newly established voluntary program for male perpetrators of domestic violence in north-east England to consider how men's involvement with children's social services and fathering roles shaped motivation to engage with a process of change. The evaluation drew on project throughput data and background information on program participants as well as interviews undertaken with men and their partners. Men who were currently involved with children's social services were found to be more likely than other program participants to engage with the program for more than five sessions. The desire to secure or regain access to their children or to avoid care proceedings was an extrinsic form of motivation that appeared effective in securing men's initial engagement with the program. However, children could also function as a form of intrinsic motivation with men developing their awareness of the impact of abusive behavior on children and viewing their participation in the program as a means of becoming a 'better father'. Abstract published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons.