Having high-quality training is essential for the safety and effectiveness of perpetrator work. Given the complexity of working with perpetrators of domestic violence—which includes focusing on victim safety, holding perpetrators accountable while approaching them with respect and fostering their internal motivation for change, and addressing the multiple factors that contribute to their use of violence in intimate relationships—the training of professionals requires a comprehensive and thorough approach.
This 15-day training (120 training hours) brings together experiences from various models of working with perpetrators, integrating key elements of what has proven effective, and featuring some of the leading European experts in the field. Furthermore, the training is designed to enable and support participants in adapting the programme to their national and local contexts, recognizing how important it is to ensure that the approach reflects the specific needs and realities of the communities they work with. Training aligns with the provisions of the Istanbul Convention, Directive on Violence against women, and European standards for perpetrator programmes.
Kath has worked in the UK for over 20 years in roles dealing directly or indirectly with domestic violence. As a consultant and trainer she specialises in the areas of risk management and safeguarding as well as providing supervision to staff working in perpetrator programmes and victim services, and designing and implementing domestic violence and safeguarding risk assessments, policies and procedures. Kath further specialises as a Chairperson and author of Domestic Homicide and Serious Case Reviews, and undertakes expert assessments for family and civil courts.
Sandra is a Training and Capacity Building Manager at the European Network for the Work with Perpetrators of Domestic Violence. She is supporting programmes for perpetrators of domestic violence in Europe through the development of the trainings, mentoring, European Standards for Perpetrator Programmes, and the European Accreditation for Perpetrator Programmes. Sandra is a psychologist with more than 10 years of experience in the domestic violence field. She has provided psychological support for women and children exposed to violence, ran the first Serbian perpetrator group and founded the National Network for the Work with Perpetrators of Violence Serbia (OPNA).
Dean is a Professor of Psychology at the Department of Psychology, University of Zagreb, Croatia. His research interests include recovery from trauma, post-conflict community social reconstruction, development and evaluation of psychosocial interventions, prevention of violence in adolescent relationships, treatment of perpetrators of gender based violence. Over the past 18 years, he led the development of Croatia’s first perpetrator program, provided individual and group treatment to perpetrators and victims, helped design the training program for providers who work with perpetrators and delivered trainings across Croatia, Bosnia Herzegovina and Macedonia. He consulted national lawmakers regarding the inclusion of work with perpetrator into Croatian laws, contributed to writing several national strategies to combat GBV with emphasis on work with perpetrators, and authored the national standards for work with perpetrators. He was a member of the interim board of the newly founded WWP EN and helped develop the organization’s statutes and other documents. Currently, he is president of the Croatian Society for Traumatic Stress (CSTS). In 2011, he received the European award Walter de Loos for Excellence in European Trauma Work.
Elena has been working as a project manager and designer, with a primary focus on the social inclusion of migrants and gender-based violence. Elena has a degree in translation and interpreting, and is also a certified cultural mediator, specialized in working with migrant victims of violence. She holds expertise in culturally sensitive work in the field of domestic violence, and expertise in the area of gender-based cyberviolence. She is part of the WWP EN projects team.
Chris is director of Partner Abuse Interventions, an independent organisation offering structured assessments of domestic violence risk and vulnerability in cases where domestic violence is a child protection concern. Chris is a practice supervisor and consultant to organisations working with perpetrators of domestic violence, including work within a multidisciplinary team at the Portman Clinic in London. He worked as a research psychologist before moving on to specialise in risk assessment, violence prevention and parenting work with those who have used violence in the family. Together with Kate Iwi, Chris also runs a training company called Partner Abuse Consultancy and Training.
Kate has 30 years experience working in this field and has also worked for a large aid organisation, developing child protection policies in international settings. Kate wrote her first domestic violence perpetrator programme back in 2000 and has since developed programmes in other parts of Europe and Lebanon. In 2011, she co-authored "Picking up the Pieces After Domestic Violence: A Practical Resource for Supporting Parenting Skills" (Jessica Kingsley; April 2011). A further book in the series, "Engaging with Perpetrators of Domestic Violence: A Handbook for Early Intervention", was published in January 2015. In 2017 she co-authored the "Reprovide programme", which forms the basis of the UK's first large scale RCT into domestic abuse perpetrator programmes, and in 2018 she wrote the Drive "Behaviour Change Toolkit" for work with high risk/ high harm perpetrators. She currently runs a Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Programme (DAPP) within the child protection system in the UK.
Gill is the Head of the Caledonian System National Team in Scotland, UK. The Caledonian System is an integrated approach to address men’s use of abusive behaviour towards female partners. It consists of a court mandated men’s behaviour change programme with integrated women’s and children’s services and is accredited by the Scottish Advisory Panel for Offender Rehabilitation. With academic background in Social Work and a Master’s degree in Psychological Trauma Studies, she has extensive experience working within Scotland’s justice system and has spent the majority of her front line social work career specialising in the delivery of the Caledonian System. Gill has a commitment to trauma informed practice and to the continued growth and development of the Caledonian System.
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