Interventions with Perpetrators of Domestic Abuse

NEDVIP (North East Domestic Violence Intervention Project)

Tel.: 042 932 7670/086 817 9604 Email: nedvip@eircom.net

NEDVIP was established in 2006 as part of an interagency response to the problem of Domestic Abuse in the region. The aim of the project is to enhance the safety of women and children by offering effective interventions to men who are abusive in the intimate context. The project has two main strands:

A) A 30-week Intervention programme for men who are referred through the courts via the Probation Service or Tusla Social Work Service;

B) A parallel support service for partners or ex-partners of the referred men.

The Project is overseen by an interagency steering committee comprising the Probation Service, Gardaí, Women’s Aid Dundalk and Drogheda Women’s and Children’s Refuge Centre.

This project has now wrapped up and MOVE now operate the Choices Programme in Dundalk with Partner Contact Support provided by Women’s Aid Dundalk.

MOVE Ireland

MOVE Ireland (Men Overcoming Violence) is a voluntary organisation which works to address domestic violence against women.

Our overriding goal is to promote the safety and wellbeing of women and their children who have experienced violence and abuse in their intimate relationships. MOVE provides Domestic Violence Perpetrators Intervention Programmes for men, where they are challenged to take responsibility for their abuse, to change their attitudes and behaviour and develop respectful, non-abusive relationships. Taking part in a MOVE programme can make a real difference to the lives of those involved, including children who have been affected.

Values and Principles

• Safety of women and children is paramount • The causes of domestic violence are multifactorial • Gender-based inequality is a critical factor but so too are early childhood trauma and emotional dysregulation

• Violence is unacceptable and is a crime • Individuals need to be held accountable and take responsibility for their violence, recognising that violence is always a choice • Violence is a learned behaviour, and change is possible • Men attending intervention programmes should experience a respectful and personcentred environment which is conducive to change • The woman’s voice and experience are always central to the groupwork with men • Men who commit serious offences against women should be dealt with and made responsible for their behaviour through the judicial system.

Structure

The head office is located in Ennis, County Clare and provides administrative and operational support nationally. There are currently MOVE programmes in the following areas: • Athlone • Cork • Dublin (Swords, Tallaght and City Central) • Galway • Kerry • Limerick/Clare • Meath • North Tipperary • Sligo

MOVE Coordinators ensure the smooth running of the programmes locally. Their contact details are as follows:

• MOVE GALWAY, SLIGO, MIDLANDS (ATHLONE) – Contact: 085 874 8108 • MOVE CORK – Contact: 086 604 4047

• MOVE DUBLIN, MEATH, TALLAGHT, SWORDS – Contact: 086 414 9591 • MOVE LIMERICK/CLARE, NORTH TIPPERARY, KERRY – Contact: 086 414 9613

Partner Contact Services are contracted by MOVE Ireland in each area to provide support to current or ex-partners. This is an integral part of the programme. Whilst every effort is made to engage with the current or ex-partner, MOVE Ireland fully appreciates that some women will choose not to take up the offer of support.

The CHOICES programme

The CHOICES programme is run both as a fixed and rolling programme to allow men to access the programme at three intervals.

The programme is a group work intervention giving men the opportunity to learn about the impact of their destructive behaviour on the family. It also supports them to develop the necessary skills to live non-abusively. Individual sessions supplement the group work and occur at the beginning of, during and after the programme. Men are brought onto the programme when a space becomes available or when a group starts when run as a fixed group.

The programme covers six discrete modules: • Support and Trust • Sexual Respect • Emotional Intimacy • Gender • Respect • Parenting

Much of the work is based on cognitive behavioural therapy, focusing on motivation, responsibility, safety and acknowledgement. Men are also taught mindfulness techniques to increase self-awareness and to develop capacities to observe and change their own reactions.

Whilst on the programme, men will be offered the opportunity to • Learn about the effects and consequences of domestic violence on their partner and family • Participate in group sessions with other individuals who have behaved in a similar way • Talk openly about their behaviour and the people affected by it • Identify their beliefs and attitudes which underpin violence and abuse • Cope with their behaviour and vulnerable feelings in difficult situations • Learn how to react without being abusive and to communicate more respectfully • Learn about respectful and responsible parenting • Learn to understand and recognise the need to change their behaviour

Criteria for suitability for Choices programme

• A pattern of acknowledged or proven Domestic Abuse • The man’s ability to accept some responsibility for his abuse and violence

• A willingness to want to change the way he behaves • A readiness and ability to work in a group setting

Partner Support

• Support is offered to current and ex-partners while men are on the programme and post-programme support for an additional three months • Not all women choose to access the support

Key Tasks

• Provides advice and support through face-to-face work and telephone support • Informs the (ex-)partner about the content of the CHOICES programme • Provides information about other local services in their area • Provides feedback on the impact the programme is having on their relationship

How to refer

• Men are referred by a professional or agency they may be working with e.g. social services, counsellor, GP, or they can refer themselves directly (self-referral) • The person referred to MOVE should not have committed sexual offences against children or be the subject of a current investigation in relation to child sexual abuse • The potential participant is encouraged to make the initial contact by phone to the appropriate local coordinator • Referral forms can be downloaded from our website at www.moveireland.ie