Programs for Men Who Use Violence

Can men who use violence really change their behavior? This is a complex question that many studies have failed to clearly answer. Some research shows that some men who complete a non-violence program can make significant changes in their lives while other experiments demonstrate minimal transformation.

FUTURES believes that personal and societal change of men who use violence and the institutions that support their abuse need to be addressed to break the cycle of abuse. If non-violence programs don’t work, we think we should look for alternatives; if they do work for some men, we ought to explore how to reach more abusers.

As part of the Innovations in Batterer Intervention Project, FUTURES is developing an online publication that highlights promising approaches for working with men who batter. The publication is funded by “The Woods” Charitable Foundation, the Office on Violence Against Women and the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence. The purpose of the online publication is to share information that will support capacity building and help a broad range of stakeholders improve how they respond to domestic violence and work with men who have used violence. The online portion of the project is set to launch in October 2014.