Like other interventions, a batterers' intervention program must be based on a specific theory of violence to be effective. The model created by the Duluth Domestic Abuse Intervention Project has been effective in the United States and has been the basis for several new programs being implemented in countries in CEE/FSU. The Duluth model is based on the theory that violence is intentional and that battering is a system of abusive behaviors that a batterer uses to maintain control over his wife or intimate partner. Other groups have developed different intervention models using this same theory of violence. Batterers' intervention programs, a component of the Duluth coordinated community response model, often give batterers an opportunity to participate in a rehabilitation process in lieu of incarceration. For further discusion of theories of domestic violence, click here. For further discussion of the coordinated community response model, click here.

There are three goals behind group interventions with batterers: (a) altering beliefs and attitudes toward violence and personal responsibility, (b) planning for safety, and (c) learning alternative skills for nonviolence. From Jeffrey Edleson & Richard Tolman, Intervention for Men Who Batter: An Ecological Approach (1992).

First, batterers' intervention programs work to alter men's beliefs and attitudes toward violence and personal responsibility. Men will not change their behavior by participating in the group unless they are willing to change. Men must recognize and acknowledge their abusive behavior and fully understand the effect it has on their partners, their relationships, and themselves. Men must take responsibility for both the physical violence that they inflict on their partners as well as other forms of abuse such as sexual violence, psychological abuse, and economic coercion. Class facilitators often challenge men about their negative or sexist attitudes and beliefs, support for abusive behaviors, and denial of abuse. This kind of challenge helps men examine the origins of their beliefs and actions with the group and to take responsibility for the abuse.

A second significant goal of a batterers' intervention program is planning for safety. Programs work to support women's safety planning by, for example, developing communication procedures with shelters. Programs can follow these procedures to communicate with shelters when a batterer's behavior in the intervention program indicates a threat to the woman. Programs also refrain from eliciting information from the partners of program participants until the partners have had an opportunity to conduct safety planning.

Third, batterers' intervention programs seek to help batterers learn skills for nonviolence. Programs attempt to teach offenders to monitor their actions and to understand the feelings they have when they become violent, such as anger, inadequacy, jealousy, or the need to control the situation. At the same time, however, programs emphasize that while a batterer may feel angry or upset, he must still take personal responsibility for his actions. His use of violence or other forms of abuse is a personal choice.

In helping batterers to learn alternative behaviors, programs may have offenders draw the chain of events that lead to the abusive behaviors. In this way, programs attempt to help batterers to know when they are acting abusively and to recognize warning signs or cues that, for example, indicate that their anger is escalating and that they may become violent. If necessary, the batterers should temporarily withdraw from a situation of conflict. They should talk to someone who will support them in not using violence. When the batterer can react in a non-abusive manner, he should return to discuss the problem without using violence or other forms of abuse. As the intervention program continues, batterers should better understand their abusive behavior and develop alternative skills and methods of interacting with their partners that do not involve violence.

This Duluth model intervention program teaches and reinforces non-violent behavior. It is based on a few guiding principles. First, the program focuses on the safety of the victim and children. Second, it works to hold the perpetrator, not the victim, accountable for his abusive behavior and for stopping the abuse. Third, the program respects the victim's choices and ability to direct her own life. Although some batterers may express regret about their actions, they also receive mixed messages from society that may support their abuse of women. Ideally, a batterers' intervention group provides an environment where men who batter can support each other in non-violent behavior.

The group format provides men with a variety of models and resources to learn how to interact differently with their partners and to change their behavior. Taking part in a program may also help batterers to decrease their dependence on their partners, reduce some of the shame that may come from discussing their abusive behaviors, and help them take responsibility for their actions. Although batterers' intervention classes often take place in a group setting, individual sessions may also be necessary, or helpful, for many men.

The classes are not the same as marriage or couples counseling. Batterers' intervention programs focus on stopping the perpetrator's criminal conduct rather than keeping the couple together. Similarly, they are not substance abuse counseling. Treatment for alcohol and drug abuse should be addressed separately.