Behaviour programs can curb the cycle of domestic violence – so why are hundreds of Australian men on waiting lists?

Sustainable Development Goals and Men’s Behavior Change Programs

David knew carrying out violence against his family was wrong. But it was a 20-week court-mandated program that taught him how to change his behaviour.

After David – who asked not to use his full name – pleaded guilty to a domestic and family violence offence, he was given an intervention and community correction order. The sentence prevented him from contacting his family for 18 months.

“I was initially resistant to [the order to take a program], I didn’t think I needed it,” he says of the program. “Then around week four or five in, it hit me like a brick wall … I realised I hadn’t totally accepted responsibility until then.”

Importance of Men’s Behavior Change Programs

Men’s behaviour change programs such as the one David attended are not a “magical solution” but are a crucial part of a complex puzzle in preventing and stemming reoffending of domestic and family violence, say people who work with domestic violence perpetrators. But hundreds of men across the country remain on waiting lists to get into programs, and some miss out completely.

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“There simply aren’t enough of them,” says Elisabeth Shaw, the chief executive of the New South Wales arm of Relationships Australia, which has a 245-long waitlist for its programs.

What the Programs are Like

The programs work by educating men to recognise their violence and help them develop strategies to change the behaviour. They also have an associated support service for the victim-survivors of perpetrators in the program.

Some of the attendees are mandated by the courts but it’s also a crucial part of preventing the violence from happening in the first place, Shaw says.

Shaw says many of the men in the program are referred or voluntary attend before they have reached the justice system.

David says when he received his community corrections order he was told by the magistrate that, if he breached it, he would risk landing in prison for his offences. Having to appear in court and face up to what he had done felt like enough to stop the violence – but the program ended up being a crucial pillar.

He attended group sessions for an hour and a half a week alongside other men and had four one-on-on sessions with a facilitator. He says many of the men at first seemed to feel the same resistance he felt about being there but opened up more as time went on.

The 16 men sat in a horseshoe shape, and went through sessions on topics such as emotional regulation and how their behaviour affects those around them. They were also invited to tell their stories.

“Without [the program] I wouldn’t have understood how to change my behaviour [and] change my communication,” he says.

During the 20 weeks his family was also receiving specialist support as part of the program.

In the eight months since completing the program, David has not reoffended, and has been seeing a psychologist weekly to work through PTSD which affected his behaviour.

He has also asked Family Life, where he completed the program, if they would consider running an extension course for men like him who want to learn more.

Problems with Access

Programs like the one David attended are not always easily accessible, particularly in regional areas. There is the option to attend online but, even then, the wait can be months.

“There’s far more areas that have no services than those that do,” Shaw says.

In the Bega Valley shire, the closest in-person accredited program is in Canberra, about a three-hour drive away. A local organisation, Sapphire Neighbourhoods Services, will soon be accredited to run the first program in the region but cannot apply for government funding until July next year.

Vesna Andric, who works with the Staying Home Leaving Violence project in the Bega region, says waiting for such a program to start in the area is making her work helping victim-survivors harder. She sometimes sees men who have been convicted of domestic violence in the past carrying out abuse again against a different women and children.

“That cycle of violence just continues,” she says.

She says having such a program would help men who recognise that their behaviour could escalate to violence avoid offending in the first place. She also argues men should be mandated to attend once their violent behaviour is flagged with police.

“They [men who have been arrested for violence] need some sort of rehabilitation, they can’t be left to stew in their holding cells and potentially come out only to lash out worse.”

When Victoria’s magistrates court said it was reviewing its program, it noted 4% of respondents to family violence intervention orders are mandated to attend counselling but only half complete the program. It said it also doesn’t go far enough to reach diverse communities.

The services running the programs say they were only told by the courts that funding for current programs would cease from July. Karina Joy, who runs the court mandated counselling program in Ballarat, where the community has been reeling from a number of gendered violence related deaths, says the decision was “gut wrenching” for the community.

She says it hasn’t been made clear how long the review will take or when the programs will be back

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators Analysis:

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 5: Gender Equality
• SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

The article discusses domestic and family violence, which is a violation of human rights and a significant barrier to achieving gender equality (SDG 5). It also highlights the importance of intervention programs and the justice system in preventing and addressing domestic violence, which aligns with the goal of promoting peaceful and inclusive societies (SDG 16).

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• Target 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in public and private spheres.
• Target 16.1: Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere.
• Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.

The article emphasizes the need to address domestic violence and prevent its recurrence, which aligns with Target 5.2 of SDG 5. It also discusses the role of intervention programs in reducing violence rates, which relates to Target 16.1 of SDG 16. Additionally, the article highlights the importance of access to justice and the need for effective court-mandated programs, which corresponds to Target 16.3 of SDG 16.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• Indicator 5.2.1: Proportion of ever-partnered women and girls subjected to physical, sexual, or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months.
• Indicator 16.1.1: Number of victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population, by sex and age.
• Indicator 16.3.1: Proportion of victims of violence in the previous 12 months who reported their victimization to competent authorities or other officially recognized mechanisms.

The article does not explicitly mention specific indicators. However, to measure progress towards Target 5.2, the indicator 5.2.1 can be used to track the prevalence of violence against women and girls. For Target 16.1, the indicator 16.1.1 can be used to measure the number of victims of intentional homicide. Lastly, for Target 16.3, the indicator 16.3.1 can be used to assess the proportion of victims who report their victimization to authorities.

Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

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Fuente: theguardian.com

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