The domestic violence movement has
had remarkable success illuminating the scope, prevalence and consequences of
battering, but has been more limited in its ability to successfully intervene
and prevent abuse of women by their intimate male partners.Surprisingly, there has been little research
directed at understanding whyintervention
strategies with perpetrators are only minimally effective.Studies have focused on assessing the degree
to which and for whom individual components such as arrest, prosecution and
psycho-educational programs for abusive men are successful, but few
explorations have attempted to describe limitations and challenges to the
domestic violence intervention system as
a whole.
Employing a systems approach, a
process-oriented evaluation of the domestic violence intervention system in Portland, Oregon
was conducted.Ten focus groups were
facilitated with key stakeholders in the coordinated community response.Participants included police and probation
officers, victim advocates, victim/survivors, batterer intervention program
providers, and batterer intervention program participants.The focus group discussions were analyzed
using constructivist grounded theory and emergent themes were identified.Based on stakeholder testimony, it appears as
though seven interacting features may limit the effectiveness of domestic
violence intervention strategies with abusive men: 1) attempting to
simultaneously punish and rehabilitate perpetrators,
2) dominance of a “one size fits all” approach, 3) insufficient
accountability within the system for abusive men, 4) rampant victim blaming, 5)
barriers to effective collaboration, 6)
confusion created by complex domestic violence dynamics, and 7)
reactivity instead of activism and preventio. These and other findings are discussed in light of their capacity to illuminate fundamental tensions associated with relying so heavily on the criminal justice system to intervene in domestic violence (e.g., the contradictions that surface when attempting to protect and empower victims, the difficulty of balancing consistency with an individually tailored response when sanctioning perpetrators).Despite these and other challenges, complete dismissal of the criminal justice system’s role in
holding abusive men accountable seems unwise. Instead, it will be important for movement activists, practitioners, and
researchers to critically reflect upon its limitations and work to redress and
refine its use, while simultaneously developing new strategies that engage a
wider range of community resources.
June 10, 2010
DISSERTATION COMMITTEE
Eric Mankowski, Chair
Janice Haaken
Kris R. Henning George G. Lendaris
Annette Jolin, Graduate Studies Rep.
