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If you are a victim of intimate partner violence, please visit the National Domestic Violence Hotline Exit Notice or call 1–800–779–SAFE (7233), 1–800–787–3224 (TTY).

Practical Implications of Research

Practical Implications of Current Domestic Violence Research (2009) describes to law enforcement officers, prosecutors and judges the implications of research for day-to-day, real-world responses to domestic violence.

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NIJ regularly publishes an updated Compendium of Research on Violence Against Women, which includes among sections on:

  • Arrest and Prosecution.
  • Offender Interventions.
  • Courts and the Criminal & Civil Justice Systems.
  • Protection Orders.

Batterer Intervention Programs Often Do Not Change Offender Behavior

Courts often mandate that convicted abusive partners attend batterer intervention programs in addition to serving a probation term. NIJ researchers have evaluated the most common batterer intervention programs. Most findings show that these programs do not change batterers' attitudes toward women or domestic violence, and that they have little to no impact on reoffending.

One study did find that men who were married and had a stake in the community (such as owning a home) and men who completed the full program were slightly less likely to reoffend.[1]

Other batterer program evaluations have been conducted, but with inconsistent results. One approach that researchers may use to integrate the results from various evaluations is known as meta-analysis. Two separate meta-analyses carried out on the more rigorous batterer intervention studies found that these programs have, at best, a modest or minimal benefit.[2, 3]

Read a summary of a 2002 workshop discussion "Batterer Intervention: Where Do We Go From Here?"

Next section: Economic Distress and Intimate Partner Violence.

Notes

[1] Jackson, S., L. Feder, D.R. Forde, R.C. Davis, C.D. Maxwell, and B.G. Taylor. Batterer Intervention Programs: Where Do We Go From Here? Research Report, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, June 2003, NCJ 195079.

[2] Feder, L., and D.B. Wilson. “A Meta-Analytic Review of Court-Mandated Batterer Intervention Programs: Can Courts Affect Abusers' Behavior?” Journal of Experimental Criminology
1 (2005): 239–262.

[3] Babcock, J.C., C.E. Green, and C. Robie. “Does Batterers' Treatment Work? A Meta-Analytic Review of Domestic Violence Treatment.” Clinical Psychology Review 23 (2004): 1023-1053.

Date Entered: May 19, 2009