Abstract
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is an international issue that social and criminal justice workers will encounter regularly. It has been identified that men can, and do stop using, or desist from, IPV although it is unclear how this process of change develops. This article introduces a conceptual model to outline how the process of desistance evolves and what it encompasses. Using thematic analysis of interview data from partner-violent men, survivors, and treatment facilitators, the resulting model demonstrates that the process of change is a dynamic one where men’s use of, and cessation from, violence needs to be understood within the context of each individual’s life. Three global themes were developed: (a) lifestyle behaviors (violent): what is happening in the men’s lives when they use violence; (b) catalysts for change: the triggers and transitions required to initiate the process of change; and (c) lifestyle behaviors (non-violent): what is different in the men’s lives when they have desisted from IPV. The purpose of this model is to offer a framework for service providers to assist them to manage the process of change in partner-violent men.
Highlights
In order for social and criminal justice workers to effectively treat and manage perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV), we need to understand why men use violence in their relationships, how they stop using violence, and the mechanisms responsible for initiating this change
The aim of the current study is to examine and understand the factors that lead violent men to stop being violent, and the processes associated with this change, by examining the process of desistance, as outlined in the verbal accounts of IPV perpetrators, female survivors of violent relationships, and program facilitators
As researchers have suggested that desistance is a complex process that is likely to involve an interplay between individual characteristics and social factors (Healy, 2010) where both structure and agency have a role (Farrall, Sharpe, Hunter, & Calverley, 2011), questions focused on asking about individual characteristics and subjective factors as well as contextual factors associated with persistence and desistance
Summary
In order for social and criminal justice workers to effectively treat and manage perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV), we need to understand why men use violence in their relationships, how they stop using violence, and the mechanisms responsible for initiating this change. The aim of the current study is to examine and understand the factors that lead violent men to stop being violent, and the processes associated with this change, by examining the process of desistance, as outlined in the verbal accounts of IPV perpetrators, female survivors of violent relationships, and program facilitators. Göbbels, Ward, and Willis (2012) suggest that complete psychological and social accounts of the desistance process from when an individual makes the decision to stop using violence through to them becoming non-violent are missing from the literature. Such information is important and necessary to inform appropriate treatment and management plans
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