"Many find it really difficult to sign off somebody after 20 weeks when they know either that man has expressed desire to continue coming to the programme, or the facilitator knows he hasn't made the changes that are necessary," Lawler said. In an earlier statement, the National Network of Family Violence Services said providers were given a maximum of 50 hours over the course of four to five months to "completely change men who have entrenched beliefs and behaviours". want to be able to continue to work with men for more than 20 weeks," Lawler said. "Most organisations that provide court-referred services. Lawler said attendees have ongoing evaluations throughout the programme that allow facilitators to see what behavioural insights are gained, how much each person contributes to each session, and to ensure nobody is harbouring undisclosed feelings when they leave each night.Īt the end of the mandated programme a final assessment is completed, which is designed to see if people need ongoing support, but is "more to the benefit of the organisation than the court". She said a bulk of the average programme involves roleplay and educational components, such as Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which is used to explain to participants that they are getting their way - including basic, psychological and self-fulfilment needs - in an "unhealthy" manner.Ĭore components also address sex, drug and alcohol abuse, and help men to understand the barriers women face in the world to live safely, such as privilege and patriarchy. "There is also an intensive assessment of the risks the person presents to his partner, his children and what needs to be put in place to manage that risk and inform victim survivors for their safety." "Part of the work of that assessment is exploring motivations to change behaviours, what barriers might be put in place preventing him from wanting to change, what his background is, and his experiences he had growing up that inform his current behaviours," she said. There's variance to the types of non-violence programmes available, some involving group based work, some involving one-on-one counselling, others being a combination of both.Ī "typical" course - one usually referred to someone by a court - is usually 20 weeks long, involves a couple hours a week and is done in a group setting.Ī participant initially has an "intensive assessment" by a family violence expert who may also facilitate the course. Lawler told 1News that working with male domestic abusers is not a "sexy, well-paid or even safe" occupation, but nonetheless a critical one. "There are systemic failings in our entire approach to family violence." "Police collect data, the justice system collects data, within the justice system the family court collects a different set of data to what's collected by the criminal court, and the corrections system collects data, but none of it is comparable - it can't be put alongside each other and matched up. However, she said providers have been asking "for years" for information on men who reoffend after completing a non-violence programme, but have been consistently told that the data "does not exist". "There are significant changes people are making in their lives as a result of these programmes that we don't celebrate or even acknowledge publicly." it's important to acknowledge, in at least a story or narrative form, that there's lots of evidence that the programmes work, but they don't work for everyone," she said. "Member agencies can anecdotally report thousands of cases where people have made significant and sustained changes. She highlighted the perceived strong efficacy of the programmes themselves, saying that two violent outliers do not reflect Friendship House's overall rate of success. Lawler responded to the story, telling 1News that greater focus must be put on "systemic failings" in stopping domestic abuse, and New Zealand needs to have a "national conversation" about family violence and the factors enabling it. TVNZ Chief Correspondent John Campbell recently dug into the efficacy of men's non-violence programmes after 1News learned Matu Reid and Jesse Kempson - two men that made headlines for their murders - both attended Friendship House, a provider in Manukau. Merran Lawler, the chief executive for the National Network of Family Violence Services, told 1News she doesn't just think the slogan is too gentle, but the country's political, cultural, and societal approaches to family violence are as well. "Family violence: it's not OK" is the Ministry of Social Development's campaign message against domestic abuse.
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