Ending Relationship Abuse Society of British Columbia

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Prepared for an Inter-ministerial Steering Committee with Representation from the Ministries of Attorney General, Health, Social Services and Women's Equality, 1992

Revised, 1999

Jim Browning, PhD, R. Psych.
Alayne Hamilton, M.S.W.
Janice Bell, M.S.W., R.S.W.

Acknowledgements

This document is the result of respectful collaboration between front line counsellors of abusive men, representatives of provincial government ministries, and community agencies providing services to women who have been abused in relationships. The contributions made by these individuals have been essential in the development of guiding principles for BC programs for abusive men which are accountable to women's services. The principles, however, would only be words on paper without the dedication and courage of members of the BC Association of Counsellors of Abusive Men who bring these principles to life in their daily work.

A special thank you is due to Catherine Coulis, who guided the original project, and to the BC Institute on Family Violence which has provided support for the development and distribution of the guiding principles.

Alayne Hamilton, Editor


For additional copies, please contact:

BC Institute on Family Violence
551 - 409 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC V6V 1T2
Phone: 604.669.7055
Fax: 604.669.7054


Introduction

The guiding principles for men's treatment were prepared for an Inter-ministerial Steering Committee with representation from the Ministries of Attorney General, Health, Social Services and Women's Equality as one component of a larger project funded conjointly by these four Provincial Ministries. The larger project, Wife Assault Intervention: Programs for Men, undertaken in 1992, involved four components closely linked in purpose. The first was a review of the literature focusing on treatment models and effectiveness of men's treatment, the second a review of existing programs for men in British Columbia, and the third the development of guiding principles. The final component was a program development handbook, incorporating knowledge from the first three components, to provide information to agencies or individuals attempting to develop programs in their communities. These documents are available from the BC Institute on Family Violence.

The guiding principles have become the basis of membership in the BC Association of Counsellors of Abusive Men, which was incorporated in 1993 to establish a network of counsellors of men who are abusive in relationships. The Association is committed to cooperative action toward common goals of effective policy and funding for programs, support and training for counsellors, and the delivery of high quality services consistent with a set of guiding principles adopted by the membership. Revisions included in this document were passed at the 1995 Annual General Meeting, and approved in 1996 by the Assaultive Men's Working Group (AMEN).

Background

Programs for abusive men in British Columbia developed at the community level with no provincial standards, but with considerable consultation between new programs and more established programs. Discussion among members of the BC Association of Counsellors for Abusive Men resulted in consensus on the basic principles of effective men's treatment. It was felt, however, that a more formal set of principles would be useful to assist new programs and funding agencies in developing and supporting programs to meet a minimum clinical standard, given current knowledge. The authors were contracted by the provincial government to undertake the project of a literature review, program review, development of guiding principles and a program development handbook.

An initial draft was generated using general topic areas gleaned from two publications in other jurisdictions: Safety for Women: Monitoring Batterers' Programs, by Barbara Hart of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence and A Program Model for Assaultive Males, Ontario Ministry of Correctional Services. Information from the Program Review and interviews with forty-one persons in larger and smaller BC communities, with representation from women's services, criminal justice, spousal assault coordinating committees, immigrant services and other agencies, were incorporated into the initial draft. This draft, together with suggestions from the steering committee, was presented to the BC Association of Counsellors for Abusive Men, and input from this meeting was incorporated into a final draft of twenty-nine principles which was then approved by the steering committee.

Revisions approved by the ERAS membership in 1995 included the addition of principle #8, and the re-ordering of the principles so that "the safety of women and children is paramount" would appear as principle #1. On the advice of the AMEN Committee, references to wife assault and wife abuse were changed to violence against women in relationships, or abuse of women in relationships. References to violence in the revised document are to be understood in the context of the Violence Against Women in Relationships Policy, Ministry of Attorney General, 1996.

Guiding Principles

The guiding principles were developed and are maintained to promote quality and consistency in BC programs for men who are abusive in relationships with women. This does not imply that all BC programs will be the same, as many variations are possible within the basic principles.

Treatment Goals

The most obvious goal of all programs for men who are abusive in relationships is to help men stop physical violence against their partners. However, recognition that abuse is a continuum of behaviours, both physical and psychological, with the prime motive to exert control, suggests a broadening of this goal. Most programs see their goals as follows:
  1. to stop all forms of abuse,
  2. to reduce controlling behaviours, and
  3. to provide alternative means of handling feelings or stresses which encourage sharing power and decision making in the relationship.
It is understood that both behaviours and attitudes must be changed. The service is indirectly aimed at achieving safety for women and children who may not be direct clients of the program. Ensuring safety for them is seen as paramount and this goal needs to be considered first when planning an intervention strategy with the men.

An ancillary goal for men's treatment is prevention. The activities may include public education and social change activities. Prevention can also be addressed in the treatment program by helping men to change their parenting so as to break the intergenerational transmission of abusive behaviour.

Conclusion

The thirty-one principles were developed from a review of available research and clinical literature in the area, input of service providers in the province and the collective clinical expertise of the writers. Broadly speaking, they represent current thinking about how abusive men's treatment should be conducted. While the principles are viewed as guidelines, rather than rigid rules, the practitioner should be able to provide a rationale for clinical practice which substantially deviates from that outlined here. It is the premise of this document that service providers in this area must be accountable to their community to show that their procedures are ethical and justifiable. It is hoped that these principles will serve as a guide toward accountability in men's treatment.