Reeducación de Maltratadores: Una Experiencia de Intervención desde la Perspectiva de Género

Abstract

Gender violence is one of the major issues that society faces. During the last few years, important legislative and interventional changes have been carried out, in order to adapt to with the specific nature of this type of crime. Because of the increase in the number of men that have been convicted of gender violence, and taking into account their general characteristics (in most of the cases it is their first crime), penal law offers an opportunity for intervention. One of the most novel measures imposed by the judges for these types of crimes is that, instead of giving jail sentences, they sentence the offenders to attend psychological treatment programs that deal with gender violence. This paper describes the experience with the application of a psycho-social intervention program with a gender perspective. We analyze the sample’s sociodemographic profile, and, in order to evaluate the program, we also use scales that measure gender ideology, beliefs about intimate relationships, and attitudes towards gender violence. Results showed that it is important to support and promote the intervention with this type of offender as a way to prevent new episodes of gender violence.