A Phenomenological Inquiry Into Men’s Desistance From Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

This research sought a deeper understanding of the experiences of men who have perpetrated intimate partner violence and subsequently participated in treatment and desisted from perpetrating violence in their intimate relationships. Phenomenological methods were used to conduct in-depth, qualitative interviews with men who had perpetrated intimate partner violence and participated in violence treatment programs to determine what assists individuals to desist from perpetration of intimate partner violence. Few participants who begin intimate partner violence programs successfully complete treatment, making it difficult to learn what helps men to successfully end their use of violence in their intimate relationships. This work adds to the small body of qualitative literature, which examines the ways by which men change their violent behavior and the motivating factors that assist with those changes. Results detail men’s experiences before entering programming, experiences while attending treatment programming, and experiences after attending treatment. Understanding how to help men to end their violent behavior not only increases women’s safety but also improves men’s lives. Future directions for treatment interventions are discussed.