The Evolution of Services for Male Domestic Violence Victims at WEAVE

Domestic violence victim service providers are challenged to create programs that are responsive to a broad range of clients who are diverse in gender and sexual orientation and present with a spectrum of abuse histories and complex co-occurring conditions. The scope of victim services needs to be examined and adjusted in order to better address the complicated issues that these clients present. This necessitates expanding beyond the feminist-based peer-counselor model that most domestic violence agencies are founded upon and integrating a gender-inclusive clinical approach that addresses the relational dynamics of the abuse and underlying psychotherapeutic issues. WEAVE, Sacramento County’s primary provider of domestic violence services, is successfully modifying its culture and programs to be more responsive to clients of both genders accessing services with various trauma histories.