Risk assessment & management for perpetrator programmes

Ensure that you know all the risks

Assessing and managing the risk of repeated violence is one of the critical elements of victim-safety-oriented perpetrator programmes. However, this is a demanding and often challenging task, and professionals in the field need ongoing support to ensure they notice all risks. We designed this two-day practice-based and interactive training for perpetrator work professionals of all experience levels.

Learn how to

Introduce evidence-based risk assessment in your programme
Recognise relevant risk factors
Assess and measure risk to your clients' (ex-)partners and children
Collaborate with victim support services and agencies in risk assessment

Additional resources

Webinar "Using Motivation to Decrease the Risk of IPV Recidivism"

Training agenda

Session 1: What is risk? Examining how you think about risk

Explore different layers of risk assessment in perpetrator programmes
Learn about perpetrator generated risks, service generated risks, risks around family and community, as well as structural risks
Develop an understanding of risk as a complex phenomenon that requires ongoing work and specific expertise.

Session 2: Understanding Risk Assessment for perpetrator programmes

Learn about risk, vulnerability and protective factors and how to apply these elements in your everyday assessments
Explore the process of assessing risk in perpetrator work
Build foundations for applying the most reliable methods in your work
Analyse crucial risk factors (static, dynamic, triggers and victim vulnerability factors)
Discuss difficulties predicting high harm cases & limitations of the work

Session 3: Unpacking what we mean when we talk about levels of risk

Learn to understand the concepts of high, moderate and low risk perpetrators
Understand how these categories are connected with the likelihood and severity of violence, type of harm and context
Explore different evidence-based tools for risk assessment (e.g. DASH, SARA /B-Safer and Barnardos Risk Matrix)
Discover how to apply the right risk assessment tool for your programme

Special focus will be given to children and assessing risk on children in situations of domestic violence, using model of "pathways of harm".

Session 4 : Implementation – From Risk Assessment to What happens in perpetrator programmes

Learn how to move from assessing risk to managing it
Discover best practices of risk management, covering different types of risk
Discuss how to apply a victim-centred perspective in our risk management procedures and practice

Session 5: Practice Skills-Risk Management Meeting

Explore characteristics of the case management meeting, an efficient and popular tool for managing risk in domestic violence programmes
Practice on case studies
Experience the value of evidence-based risk assessment instruments

Session 6: Roles and Responsibilities of different services

Explore roles and responsibilities of key actors, with focus on perpetrator programmes and victim support services
Learn how to overcome challenges in establishing clear pathways for joint work
Discover cooperation protocols that can be easily adapted to the local context

Session 7: Managing risk and safety through information gathering and effective comparison

Explore and understand the concept of multi-agency work
Learn about European best practices and models
Discuss how the most important aspects could be applied in the context of your country and community

Session 8: Developing protocols across agencies

Learn how to set up or accelerate your multi-agency work
Increase your impact on survivor safety
Explore proven ways to establish long-standing cooperations

The trainers

Dr Chris Newman

Dr Chris Newman is the 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. He 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. Chris 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.

Fionnuala Collins

Fionnuala Collins currently works part-time in Ireland as a local coordinator of the TLC Kidz programme-a specialised group recovery programme for mothers and children who have experienced domestic abuse. She is also studying for a Masters degree and the focus of her research is engaging fathers effectively after gender based violence. Previous to this, Fionnuala has accumulated 25 years of experience in a variety of frontline roles in the community and voluntary sector, the last 5 years focusing on male perpetrators. Based on the WWP "Engage" guidelines, she developed and delivered tailored training for a diverse range of frontline staff in Ireland, to support breaking the stigma and engaging perpetrators effectively. Fionnuala develops methods to encourage reflection, thinking, and deeper engagement, understanding that gender based violence is a complex issue that requires good understanding, protocols, and practices both internally and between agencies/sectors. Fionnuala is both a member of the WWP steering committee which is developing European Quality Assured Standards and an independent, external evaluator of grant applications for those wishing to develop quality work across Europe in this area.

Best Risk Assessment training I have attended. As a neurodiverse person some trainings are difficult to follow, this training kept my attention and challenged me.

Shana Begum (UK)

Name:	cookie_consent
Provider:	Website Owner
Purpose:	This cookie stores the selected consent options of the user.
Cookie duration:	1 year

Name:	_ga, _gat, _gid
Provider:	Google
Purpose:	These cookies are installed by Google Analytics. They are used to calculate visitor, session, and campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. All information is anonymised.
Cookie duration:	2 years

Name:	_fbp
Provider:	Facebook
Purpose:	Facebook browser identifier for website analysis.
Cookie duration:	90 days

Name:	AEC, SOCS, __Secure-BUCKET, __Secure-ENID, googtrans
Provider:	Google
Purpose:	AEC cookie are used to detect spam. SOCS cookie store a user’s state regarding their cookies choices.
Cookie duration:	13 months

Best Risk Assessment training I have attended. As a neurodiverse person some trainings are difficult to follow, this training kept my attention and challenged me.

Cookie Settings