WWP EN Expert Papers
In order to collect and exchange knowledge and update current findings in theory and practice regarding work with perpetrators and/or victims support, network experts use our platform to publish papers on selected issues:
Educational Sabotage: A form of abuse against children and youth with potentially long-term consequences
In her expert paper, Prof. Carolina Øverlien (Stockholm University, Norwegian Center for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies) discusses the issue of educational sabotage as a consequence of domestic violence or youth intimate partner violence from the perspective of children and youth who are victimised at home during childhood or by an intimate partner during their adolescence.
Policy recommendations for an effective quality assurance process of standards implementation in perpetrator programmes
These policy recommendations are based on two guidance documents written by Daniela Hirt from BAG TäHG and Alistair Sherlock from RESPECT. Parts of these documents were integrated and restructured, so that they form a comprehensive policy recommendation.
This document provides recommendations on key aspects of setting up a European Accreditation Model for Perpetrator Programmes, existing challenges and proposed ways forward.
Policy guidelines for work with men with migrant backgrounds
In these guidelines by Isotta Rossoni, she lays out useful recommendations for stakeholders working on issues of sexual or gender-based violence (SGBV) with men with migrant backgrounds. Read the guidelines here
Policy Recommendation: Collaboration between community-based perpetrator programmes, support services and prison & probation services
In this policy recommendation, Darren O'Connell (Drive Project), reflects on obstacles and potentials for an effective and safe collaboration between community-based perpetrator programmes, support services and prison & probation services. You can read the policy recommendation here.
Fathering in the context of family violence. Challenges, interventions, and collaboration towards child protection
In his expert paper, Henning Mohaupt (ATV) presents common challenges in the parenting and co-parenting of men who are violent towards their intimate partners. Additionally, he gives an overview of different ways to make fathering and co-parenting a theme in interventions with violent men.
Probation and prison based programmes for perpetrators of domestic and sexual violence: a European overview
In this expert paper, Sandra Jovanović from Serbian WWP EN Member Organisation OPNA, gives an overview of the probation or prison based programmes for perpetrators in Europe. The paper focuses on programmes for perpetrators of domestic violence and gives an insight into programmes led by probation/prison services, as well as NGOs and other agencies linked with the criminal justice system. Programmes for sexual offenders are briefly elaborated, mostly through the prism of the connections between sexual and domestic violence perpetrator programmes.
Addressing sexualised violence in the work with perpetrators
In this expert paper, Natalia Batenkova, from Swedish WWP EN Member Organisation Unizon, discusses various definitions of sexualised violence, the role of language in shaping the understanding of sexualised violence, forms of sexualised violence, addressing sexualised violence in the work with perpetrators, the importance of work on prevention of sexualised violence, ways forward for WWP EN and its members. As a practical input, Neil Blacklock (Respect) added some practice suggestions for working on sexual violence and abuse with those who perpetrate domestic abuse to the expert paper, which can be found at the end of the document.
Working with(in) migrant populations
In this expert essay, two perpetrator programmes from the UK share their experiences engaging with Polish and Urdu/Hindi speaking communitites. Asia Bartsch, Rory Macrae and Kasia Zalewska from Safer Families Edinburgh and Viji Rajagopalan, Garima Jhamb, Bhupinder Virdee, Suzanne Dean and Liz Ostrowski from DVIP show different risk factors and problems they face, as well as the benefits perpetrators and their partners reap from participating in the programmes.
Who should provide victim's support services?
Alessandra Pauncz's paper constitutes a review of relevant documents around the cooperation between women's support services and perpetrator programmes centering around the question "Who should provide victim's support?".
Gender
Marianne Hester's paper on Gender gives an insight into the complex intersections of the concept with interpersonal violence and societal power imbalances. She shows how different research methods can lead to conflicting views of gender-based violence and the influence the perception of women's and men's sexuality has on domestic and sexual violence. By examining the way gender influences not only the perception, but also the treatment of perpetrators of domestic violence, Hester makes the case that gender is a concept with significant importance for policy development and practical perpetrator work.
Working towards Safety: Supporting women alongside DVIP’s perpetrator programme
Rajagopalan, Price, Langston and Potter give an insight into how a support service, run by a perpetrator programme, sees their work with female partners or ex-partners of the men in the programme. The authors write about how they place women at the core of their intervention programme, the basis for this work, confidentiality and the complex ways in which the two parts of the programme intersect and interact. Additionally, they use case studies to illustrate their points and bring them to life.
Implementing the IMPACT Toolkit
Written by Cassandra Jones, this essay gives us the details on the Impact Toolkit. The essay is one of a planned series of essays covering the toolkit. She shows us how programmes can get the best out of Impact paper-based tools and online questionnaires (in development). She takes us through a thorough tour of what and how the questionnaires can evaluate projects by the pre, during and post programme questions and the differences in these. She also gives sensitive guidelines for filling out the questionnaires in either self-administered or interview situations.
Partnerships with victims' services in work with perpetrators
Rosa Logar examines the issue for partnerships between women’s/victim organisations and perpetrator work. She underlines the key issues such as: the importance of the Istanbul Convention; how societal gender inequality runs not only through all aspects of perpetrator work but in multi-agency partnerships too; institutional challenges to change and holistic responses. She explains how all partnerships need to act in ways that empower women, and gives details of a project in Austria to give an example of good practice of co-ordinated partnership work.
Masculinities, men and violence
Katarzyna Wojnicka outlines the relevance of masculinity as a socially constructed phenomen. She then looks at the deep relationships between manliness and violence and finally discusses why male violence should be the only main issue in working with perpetrators (in which the reflection on male victims should have its place, but not shift the main focus).
Setting up programmes for work with perpetrators
In their essay, Dean Ajdukovic & Alessandra Pauncz share their experiences in setting up a perpetrator work organisation. Both have been building up programmes in countries with no or few predecessors. Their extensive essay includes dimensions like legal contexts, methodology, do's and dont's, strategic, networking, and organisational issues, as well as training aspects.
Responding to diverse ethnic communities in domestic violence perpetrator programmes
In her essay, Thangam Debbonaire questions the concept of singular ethnic identity in working with perpetrators of domestic violence. Nevertheless, knowledge about cultural beliefs and attitudes of the diverse ethnic groups is helpful in practical work. She therefore proposes an approach to working cross-culturally with a range of people from diverse ethnic communities, with awareness of specific practical needs such as language and immigration barriers combined with understanding of how culture is many layered and includes cultures of masculinity.
