West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence

BATTERER INTERVENTION PREVENTION PROGRAMS IN WEST VIRGINIA

Establishing batterer intervention prevention programs is an effort to provide comprehensive programs addressing the impact of domestic violence on individuals and in communities. Batterer's programs are one piece of a coordinated community response involving law enforcement, prosecutors, courts, judges, communities of faith, schools, victim services, health care professionals, correctional facilities, etc. The primary purpose of programs for batterers is to maximize safety for victims of domestic violence and to hold perpetrators accountable for their violence and abusive choices.

In West Virginia, programs for batterers are rooted in the theory that the cause of domestic violence is one person's arbitrary belief in the right to exert power over another person. This power is demonstrated through a pattern of coercive control used to intimidate and manipulate the victim into responding according to the batterer's immediate demands and desires. Perpetrators of domestic and family violence are deliberate in choosing their victims and in selecting their tactical means of control. Perpetrators learn to accept violence and abuse as a means of resolving inter-personal conflict with few if any negative consequences. Only recently in West Virginia (1992) was domestic violence identified as a crime that will no longer be tolerated or excused.

Contact your local licensed domestic violence program for information on the batterer intervention prevention program in the your area.

Critical Points to Remember in Working with Batterers:

Battering is NEVER justified, excusable, provoked, hereditary, out of control, accidental or an isolated incident with no further dynamics. Disease, diminished intellect, alcoholism/addiction or intoxication, mental illness or any external person or event does not cause battering. The batterer is responsible for his behavior, not the person who is the target of the battering.
Battering behavior is prevalent across all lines of race, ethnicity, geography, education, social class, religion and sexual orientation.
Men are responsible for 95% of the battering that occurs in the United States.
Battering and abusive behavior is regulated by the batterer's estimation of probable consequences, never by "provocation."
Battering is chosen behavior and, therefore, other choices can be made. Non-violent and respectful ways of participating in intimate relationships can be implemented.
Battering has adverse, long-term psychological, emotional, physical and economic effects on the women and children who are its survivors.
Battering is a pattern of coercive control and not a singular event.
Batterers do not lose control of their behavior because they are intoxicated. Battering is not a secondary "symptom" to alcoholism or addiction. Intoxication and addiction are, among other things, tools of the batterer.

Intervention Strategies:

Domestic violence and drug and alcohol problems must be dealt with comprehensively.
Domestic violence is criminal behavior and should be vigorously sanctioned by law.
Batterer intervention services are one aspect of the larger network necessary to address domestic violence.
Batterer intervention services must be monitored by women survivors and domestic violence programs.
Batterer intervention services' highest priority is to promote victims' safety, empowerment and rights. Delivery of intervention services to batterers is always secondary to the empowerment and safety of victims.
Couples therapy is generally an inappropriate, ineffective and unsafe intervention activity with batterers. It may be appropriate once the batterer has demonstrated accountability, the (ex) partner feels an acceptable degree of safety, she freely chooses this as an option and it is clearly stated by the therapist that couples therapy is not being conducted to stop the violence. This option should always be in conjunction with, and secondary to, the man's involvement in an accountable batterer intervention service.
Batterer intervention services must NEVER advocate for batterers in the legal arena.
"Anger management" theory and methods are never appropriate for use in batterer intervention services as they do not accurately reflect the cause of battering and are a reflection of the batterers' desire to camouflage his choice to batter. Further, anger management theory suggests provocation, fails to account for premeditation, diffuses responsibility, implies that there is a quick fix, misrepresents the depth of the problem in the community and fully misses the link to the larger issue of sexism and patriarchy.
Batterer intervention services must create and implement self-monitoring mechanisms that work to minimize batterers' ability to use the program as leverage against the survivors of their battering and/or the community intervention network.
Battering is illegal. Battering is a preventable crime. Courts have sanctions available to impact domestic violence. Batterers need to be held accountable for their choices. Intervention services for batterers must not be used as a substitute for arrest, conviction, probation, incarceration or other legal sanctions.
Because all men benefit from the violent and controlling tactics of batterers, all men must work to end violence and to safeguard its victims.
Battering will not cease because a batterer gets sober or "works a good drug/alcohol recovery program."
Family and couples intervention modalities for drug and alcohol problems are not appropriate, initially, for batterers.
Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous and Al-Anon are not a suitable substitute for an accountable, competent batterer intervention service.
Accountability for battering is a lifelong process.

What's Going On With Batterers?
It is important to know and point out to batterers that most men do not abuse their partners and their children. Dr. David Adams, a batterer's counselor in Boston for over twenty years, estimates that about eighty percent of batterers grew up in a home in which they watched their father beat their mother. Therefore, they likely have the skewed notion that most, if not all, men use violence to control their families. A former abuser, now batterer's intervention program director Hamish Sinclair likes to tell the men in his groups, "Real men do not abuse their partners and children." Dr. David Adams reports that while there exists a range of behaviors among batterers, most share similar beliefs and traits. The following represents some of those common characteristics Dr. Adams has found in two decades of running batterers' intervention programs.

Public vs. Private Behavior: Many batterers work hard to create the public image of being the concerned, decent "family man." Often nobody else has seen the violent, controlling side of him, resulting in victims being accused of exaggerating or lying about the abuse.
Abusing Power, Control and Manipulation: The batterer's goal is to achieve power and control over his victim. Domestic violence is not simply random, isolated acts of violence. Rather, Dr. Adams tells us, it is "a planned pattern of coercive control that includes verbal abuse, threats, psychological manipulation, sexual coercion, and control over economic resources." The batterer's incessant criticism and allegations of infidelity ravage the victim's self-esteem, keeping her on the defensive and isolated from her family, friends and co-workers. Part of the manipulation is to keep changing the list of rules and demands the victim must meet to avoid abuse.
Projecting Blame: One of the most widespread forms of batterer manipulation is to blame the victim for his abuse. Similar to alcoholics, the batterer portrays himself as the victim, arguing that she "drove me to it," "pushes my buttons," or "provoked me." Frequently, outsiders are then deceived into focusing on the victim's actions. This does the batterer no favor; for in failing to hold him accountable, he has no means to analyze options to the violence.
Claiming Loss of Control: For some time mental health professionals believed that most batterers suffered from poor impulse control. Thus, when batterers said, "Well, I just lost it!," most of us believed them. Dr. David Adams and other reputable batterer experts now report that less than five to ten percent of batterers have poor impulse control or an anger problem; rather it is, as mentioned above, a planned pattern of coercive control. Most men who batter their partners and children do not exhibit "generalized violence." They do not assault the police officer who gives them a speeding ticket or their boss who yells at them for being late to work. Clearly, many batterers believe there will not be sanctions for partner violence. For those batterers who do exhibit generalized violence, extra caution should be taken, as they tend to be more dangerous to their families and law enforcement officers.
Claiming a Problem with Anger: Similar to the excuse of poor impulse control, many abusers allege difficulty controlling their anger. However, Dr. David Adams asserts that only a small minority of batterers, he estimates five to seven percent, cannot control their anger. We have learned this from listening to batterers as they explain their abuse. For example, one batterer said that he puts the children in the next room before assaulting his wife, to prevent them from witnessing the abuse. Another abuser reported taking off all his rings "so I wouldn't hurt her too bad." Dr. Adams tells us that such explanations are typical of abusers. This planned behavior constitutes pre-meditation in West Virginia and every other state, and obviously does not indicate someone whose anger is uncontrollable.
Attributing to Substance Abuse: Dr. Murray Strauss, in his article "Alcohol Abuse and Family Violence," reports that in spite of the high correlation between domestic violence and alcohol/ drug abuse, experts agree that such substances do not cause the violence. Doctors Strauss and Adams say that the alcohol or drugs may function as disinhibitors and a convenient excuse, but batterers who abuse substances have two separate problems for which they should receive treatment, education and be held accountable.
Minimizing and Denying the Abuse: Batterers' education specialists report that few batterers, even the most brutal, consider themselves as such, and will, invariably, under-report or deny their abuse. Researchers Scinovacz, Browning and Dutton found that even when directly questioned by law enforcement, judges or therapists, most batterers simply lied about the abuse, with some attempting to rationalize it. Dr. David Adams reports that, when prodded, the majority of batterers will minimize their actions with comments such as "I only gave her a little shove," when, in fact, he pushed the victim down a flight of stairs. Batterers typically consider even serious abuse (punching, choking, beating up) as self-defense, when it is clearly retaliation for the victim's failure to do what the batterer wanted. Often, even severe batterers express shock when arrested, for it has not registered that their violence constitutes a crime.
Failure to Take Responsibility for Own Actions: Most batterers blame outside forces for their violent behavior; the victim's "mouthiness" for example, alcohol or a bad day at work.
External Motivation: Dr. David Adams and other experts have found that most batterers are externally motivated. That is, they care very much what others, particularly men, think of them. When men in our communities are willing to stand up and say, "Real men don't beat their partners and their children," abusers can get the message that their behavior is closer to that of an immature bully and coward.

Assessing Whether Batterers Will Kill
Some batterers are life-endangering. While it is true that all batterers are dangerous, some are more likely to kill than others are and some are more likely to kill at specific times. Regardless of whether there is a protective order in effect, officers should evaluate whether an assailant is likely to kill his partner or other family members and/or police personnel and take appropriate action.

Assessment is tricky and never foolproof. It is important to conduct an assessment at every call, no matter how many times an officer has responded to the same household. The dispatcher and responding officer can utilize the indicators described below in making an assessment of the batterer's potential to kill. Considering these factors may or may not reveal actual potential for homicidal assault. But, the likelihood of a homicide is greater when these factors are present. The greater the number of indicators that the batterer demonstrates or the greater the intensity of indicators, the greater the likelihood of a life-threatening attack.

Use all of the information you have about the batterer, current as well as past incident information. A thorough investigation at the scene will provide much of the information necessary to make the assessment. However, law enforcement will not obtain reliable information from an interview conducted with the victim and perpetrator together or from the batterer alone.

Some lethality indicators are listed below:

Threats of homicide or suicide. The batterer who has threatened to kill himself, his partner, the children or her relatives must be considered extremely dangerous.
Fantasies of homicide or suicide. The more the batterer has developed a fantasy about whom, how, when, and/or where to kill, the more dangerous he may be. The batterer who has previously acted out part of a homicide or suicide fantasy may be invested in killing as a viable "solution" to his problems. As in suicide assessment, the more detailed the plan and the more available the method, the greater the risk.
Weapons. Whether a batterer possesses weapons and has used them, or has threatened to use them in the past, in his assaults on the battered woman, the children or himself, his access to those weapons increases his potential for lethal assault. The use of guns is a strong predictor of homicide. If a batterer has a history of arson or the threat of arson, fire should be considered a weapon.
"Ownership" of the battered partner. The batterer who says "Death before divorce!" or "You belong to me and will never belong to another!" may be stating his fundamental belief that the woman has no right to life separate from him. A batterer who believes he is absolutely entitled to his female partner, her services, her obedience and her loyalty, no matter what, is likely to be life endangering.
Centrality of the partner. A man who idolizes his female partner, or who depends heavily on her to organize and sustain his life, or who has isolated himself from all other community, may retaliate against a partner who decides to end the relationship. He rationalizes that her "betrayal" justifies his lethal retaliation.
Separation Violence. When a batterer believes that he is about to lose his partner, if he can't envision life without her or if the separation causes him great despair or rage, he may choose to kill.
Depression. Where a batterer has been acutely depressed and sees little hope for moving beyond the depression, he may be a candidate for homicide and suicide. Research shows that many men who are hospitalized for depression have homicidal fantasies directed at family members.
Access to the battered woman and/or to family members. If the batterer cannot find her, he cannot kill her. If he does not have access to the children, he cannot use them as a means of access to the battered woman. Careful safety planning and police assistance are required for those times when contact is required, e.g. court appearances and custody exchanges.
Repeated outreach to law enforcement. Partner or spousal homicide almost always occurs in a context of historical violence. Prior calls to the police indicate elevated risk of life-threatening conduct. The more calls, the greater the potential danger.
Escalation of batterer risk. A less obvious indicator of increasing danger may be the sharp escalation of personal risk undertaken by a batterer; when a batterer begins to act without regard to the legal or social consequences that previously constrained his violence, chances of lethal assault increase significantly.
Hostage-taking. A hostage-taker is at high risk of inflicting homicide. Between 75% and 90% of all hostages taken in the US are related to domestic violence situations.

If an intervenor concludes that a batterer is likely to kill or commit life-endangering violence, extraordinary measures should be taken to protect the victim and her children. This may include notifying the victim and law enforcement of the risk, as well as seeking a mental health commitment, where appropriate. The victim should be advised that the presence of these indicators may mean that the batterer is contemplating homicide and that she should immediately take action to protect herself and should contact the local battered woman's program to further assess lethality and develop safety plans.