last updated February 1, 2006
The Santa Clara County Probation Department's Standards for Batterers Programs and Certification were adopted in March 1997 and are based in large part on the California Alliance Against Domestic Violence's Model Guidelines for Batterers Programs and the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence's Program Standards for Batterer Intervention Services. The Standards provide guidelines for intervention programs and set criteria such programs must meet to be certifed by the Probation Department. The document's "Statement of Philosophy" explains that all aspects of service delivery by a batterers program must focus primarily on the safety of domestic violence victims and their children. The entire program, as reflected in the program application, group process, administrative operations, and any activity with or about the batterer, must hold the victim's safety and well-being as the primary concern. The interests of victim safety and autonomy supersede the rehabilitative interests of the batterer and the batterers program. As the Statement of Philosophy explains further:
There is not yet conclusive evidence that intervention programs for batterers are effective in ending violence and abuse, on either an individual or societal level. What research has been done demonstrates that only a small number of batterers who complete batterer intervention programs are committed to lives free of violence. Therefore, the requirement of a program's adherence to these Standards is to not only safeguard victims and the batterer's current partner, but to assure, at the very least, that batterers gain no further power to abuse through participation in a batterers program. The Statement provides that batterers' programs cannot "exist in isolation." Rather, such programs are "but one element of a comprehensive community plan to stop domestic violence." Batterers' intervention programs must be "informed by, and be accountable to, the experience of victims" and the goal of such programs "shall be to end the offender's abusive, intimidating and violent behavior." The Statement also explains that program content must "recognize and identify the potential for the support and perpetuation of abuse based upon traditional gender roles, privilege and victim blaming." In its conclusion, the Statement emphasizes that
The philosophy of each batterers program must advance the premise that domestic violence is criminal activity and is learned behavior, and is therefore changeable. Violence, other than for self defense, can not be justified by the victim's behavior and can never be condoned. Batterers are to be held accountable for all acts of abusive and intimidating behavior as they are solely responsible for their actions. The Standards govern issues such as program format and content, record keeping and reporting, attendence, program and staff requirements, acceptance and rejection policies, intake procedures, confidentiality, and victim notification and contact.
The Batterer Intervention Services Coalition Michigan provides links to legal standards for batterers' intervention programs that have been developed by different states in the United States and Canada.
The Statement of Principles and Minimum Standards of Practice, published by RESPECT, the National Association of Domestic Violence Perpetrator Programmes and Associated Support, in September 2000, articulates basic principles that should form the foundation of a batterers' intervention program. The document also includes Minimum Standards of Practice for Associated Women's Services, which outlines basic principles for the provision of services to victims of domestic violence in connection with batterers' intervention programs. | 