Male IPV Perpetrators’ Self-Reports of Accountability: A Content Analysis of Exit Letters Written by Clients Who Completed a Batterer Intervention Program Between 1990 and 2015

Batterer intervention programs (BIPs) continue to be the primary mode of intervention for male perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV). The extent, however, to which BIPs are effective remains unclear. In particular, studies are needed that can provide detailed information on how accountability is promoted during the BIP process, and if clients leave a BIP with a clear sense of what it means to be responsible for their behaviors. The present study seeks to expand our knowledge of accountability as it is understood in the BIP context through an exploration of clients’ written reflections on their experiences with such a program. A random sample of 555 exit letters were collected from a participating BIP in 2015 and analyzed to understand clients’ perceptions on accountability. A three-coder iterative approach to analysis, focusing on content and global coding of broad thematic and subthematic categories was used. Our findings show that many clients admitted to the use of some type of abusive behavior as the precipitating factor for their involvement in the BIP, and that additionally, they generally recognized the need to be responsible for their behaviors and the consequences associated with their abuse. However, we also found that an increased emphasis on accountability in BIPs may be warranted. In particular, more research is needed to explore how BIPs promote accountability among their clients, and how individuals who complete a BIP understand and interpret their role in perpetrating abuse.

Research-Supported Recommendations for Treating LGBTQ Perpetrators of IPV: Implications for Policy and Practice

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global social problem that results in economic, social, and health costs for individuals and their communities. Moreover, due to the stress, anxiety, and home isolation brought on by COVID-19, recent reports suggest an alarming increase in the number of reported IPV victims and, thus perpetrators the world over. In particular, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) identified people are as or more likely than heterosexuals to experience and perpetrate IPV, while they are less likely to receive media attention, social support, or legal protections. Batterer intervention programs, informed by public policy and laws, are the predominant mechanism of interventions for perpetrators of IPV in the United States. As a vulnerable population with increased health and economic disparities, how do disasters impact treatment of IPV perpetration by LGBTQ people? To answer this question, the current article reviews the literature on batterer intervention programs and IPV in sex and gender minority relationships to better understand how to deliver research-supported treatment during disasters. Next, to reduce such disparities, we provide research-supported recommendations for treating LGBTQ perpetrators of IPV and shed light on meaningful interventions in the COVID-19 context. Implications and recommendations for public policy are further discussed.

The Double Standard of Accountability: A Call for Treatment Integrity of IPV Offender Programs

In this study, we explain the importance of treatment integrity by listing and exploring state standards for service providers of intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetrator programs across the United States. The overall expectations of batterer intervention programs (BIPs) will be discussed as we compare and contrast the Duluth Model with evidence-based practice. Expectations of treatment efficacy will be explored from the stance of the professional code of ethics and ethical practice. The context for this article is inspired by the following issues: (a) mental health professionals’ ethical obligations to clients and to standards of practice; (b) the value of treatment integrity; (c) expectations regarding program efficacy; (d) the nature of court-mandated batterer intervention programs. Potential ethical concerns that are explored include: failure to consider and utilize research evidence, failure to ensure treatment integrity, inadequate assessment/diagnosis, failure to connect assessment to treatment, using a diagnosis on a client not identified in the DSM–V, giving a diagnosis without proper credentials or evaluation of the client, and imploring a homogeneous approach to a complex behavior.

Theorizing on the Roots of Transgender Intimate Partner Violence

Intimate partner violence (IPV) prevention education, batterer intervention programs, and victim treatment services are often designed in part to help participants identify and undermine the causes of IPV so as to facilitate rehabilitation and limit future perpetration. Thus, understanding the causes of transgender IPV (T-IPV) is of vital importance to ending it. By drawing on both the T-IPV and the broader cisgender IPV research literatures, this chapter reviews emerging theories of the causes of T-IPV. These theorized causes include many that also have been identified in the cisgender IPV literature—including rationalizing abuse, socialization into IPV-condoning attitudes, and power imbalances—in addition to several causes unique to T-IPV, including transphobia-related perpetration theories and transphobia-related victimization vulnerability theories. Supporting evidence for and gaps in our knowledge about these causes also are reviewed.

Male IPV Perpetrators' Perspectives on Facilitation of Batterer Intervention Program: Results From a 2-Year Study

As part of a two-year ethnographic study of batterer intervention programs (BIPs) we interviewed 76 male perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV) on their perspectives regarding BIP facilitators. Participants endorsed a number of characteristics of facilitators that helped to reduce their resistance to the group process and assisted in engaging them in the learning process, including facilitators who were invested in the program and its mission, and displayed a non-judgmental demeanor. At the same time, they also endorsed facilitators who were honest with them and challenged them on their behavior, and who exhibited a high degree of experience in IPV. Additionally, participants endorsed the need to have a female facilitator as part of the group to further promote engagement and learning. This study has implications for thinking about what components of BIP facilitation might be important for reducing some of the resistance that may lead to client attrition, and how BIPs can better engage clients in prosocial behavioral changes.

A Group-Centered Approach to Exploring Sexual Respect in Batterer Intervention Programs

Intimate partner violence is a serious social and public health issue often treated via psychoeducational groups in batterer intervention programs. The topic of sexual respect is a universal component in these groups, but traditional approaches may be too structured to address its complexity. This article outlines examples of how to select and process issues related to sexual violence and sexual respect in a way that honors group dynamics and process and accounts for various stages of offender accountability. We offer a curriculum that uses a careful selection of topics that is related to the skills deficit of the members, while utilizing the power of the group to facilitate the discussion. Specifically, we outline how sexual respect can be addressed in the low-accountability forming stage, the medium-to-high accountability norming/storming stage, and the high accountability performing stage in batterer intervention programs.

What Services Exist for LGBTQ Perpetrators of Intimate Partner Violence in Batterer Intervention Programs Across North America? A Qualitative Study

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to determine available services for LGBTQ clients in domestic violence batterer intervention programs across North America and to ascertain which theoretical models informed these services.MethodData collected from the North American Survey of DomesticViolence Intervention Programs were analyzed using deductive and inductive coding. Using guidelines established by the American Association for Public Opinion Research, the response rate for mailings was 20% and for e-mails was 45%.ResultsRespondents indicated a range of approaches to LGBTQ clients from doing nothing specific to serving LGBTQ clients with one-on-one sessions.ConclusionsRecommendations include more LGBTQ facilitators, developing curricula that addresses homophobia, issues related to family of origin, and foster methods of outreach to the LGBTQ community to make those affected aware of treatment possibilities. Moreover, evidence suggests a disconnect between practitioners and researchers when it comes to defining and treating the problem of intimate partner violence in LGBTQ relationships.ImplicationsPractitioners should not only undergo cultural training and provide LGBTQ-specific curricula, but also engage how and why such social inequality exists and persists. Further implications for policy and treatment are discussed.