Safe Haven, an emergency shelter for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in Columbus, plans to implement a Domestic Abuse Intervention Program.
The goal is to help domestic abusers change their violent behaviors and attitudes towards women.
Offenders would attend sessions led by trained facilitators for 24 weeks, according to Joyce Tucker, the executive director of Safe Haven.
The program, however, cannot be implemented without the support of local municipal and justice court judges. Tucker said she has been in contact with municipal court judges Nicole Clinkscales and Marc Amos, both of whom support the program. She hopes to have the support of justice court judges, as well.
The support of judges is critical because it will be judges who require offenders to attend classes. Offenders could also be referred by social service agencies or probation agencies, or be self-referred, Tucker added.
Currently, judges refer batterers to anger management classes. Amos said that though he does not yet know the specifics of Safe Haven’s proposed program, he supports it as an alternative to anger management classes because this program is meant to change abusers’ ideas of what is acceptable behavior.
“It’s really designed to modify behaviors more so than taking a weekend class would,” Amos said.
The American Bar Association reports that around 1.3 million women and 835,000 men are physically assaulted by a partner in the U.S. each year.
There are many factors that contribute to domestic violence, according to Dr. Youn Mi Lee, an associate professor of Family Studies at Mississippi University for Women. Abuse does not just occur because of problems in a relationship, but because of common attitudes about male dominance over women and children and because society often encourages violent behavior.
Targeting the problem’s root
The program would address not only anger, but the need for power and control which drives abusers to violence, Tucker said. It would include lessons on behaviors, such as recognizing anger cues, developing negotiation skills, communicating feelings and thoughts, acknowledging women’s fears and accepting women’s anger.
“It’s important because a lot of women return to the abuser, and if the abuser is arrested and he’s court-ordered to attend the program, hopefully at the end of the program, he no longer will exhibit that abusive behavior, and he and his partner will have ended that cycle,” Tucker said.
She added that when victims do not return to the abuser, the abuser usually finds another partner. If the abuser has completed the program and changed his behavior, his new partner will not become a victim of domestic violence.
Tucker added that anger management classes, which are currently available in Lowndes County, do not address the issues that really drive offenders to abuse their victims.
“It’s a power and control issue,” she said. “It’s not about managing anger.”
Tucker has been working with other Mississippi women’s shelters with successful DAIPs to plan Safe Haven’s program.
One shelter, the Center for Violence Prevention in Pearl, has a recidivism rate of less than five percent for offenders who complete the program, according to Tucker.
Still, she emphasized that for the program to have an effect, offenders have to be open to changing their attitudes.
‘Most who abuse have been abused’
The success of the Center for Violence Prevention’s intervention program is due to the length of the program, according to Ben Ellard, the center’s domestic abuse intervention program coordinator.
About four to five weeks into the 24-week program, abusers begin to pay attention in the sessions and acknowledge that they need to change their behaviors, Ellard said.
He added that the program is all about breaking the cycle of violence.
“Most people who abuse have been abused, or watched their mother or father be abused,” he said.
The Center for Violence Prevention’s program presents videos that force the people enrolled to confront abuse and face the damage it causes, Ellard said.
“I think it opens their eyes and it makes them have to see it,” he said.
The center’s DAIP has the program’s participants fill out an exit evaluation once they have finished the program. One unnamed participant said the program “gives you a whole new outlook on both sides. I have learned how to respect other people’s opinions and thoughts. I have also learned to be proactive instead of react. Very good program.”
Another said, “Things I thought I would never do, I am doing. Talking more and thinking before acting. I’ve even set up weekly sit down sessions.”
One female participant said, “I do not get angry anymore like I did before. My husband and I get along great now, and we are much happier.”
Just the beginning
Tucker estimates the program will cost around $2,000 to start. Most of that cost would go toward training the program facilitator. Offenders enrolled in the program would pay a fee, though the exact amount has not been determined. Tucker said other programs have a range of fees from $15 to $25 for a session, but added that the fee for the program in Lowndes County could be lower.
If the DAIP is successful in Lowndes County, Tucker hopes to expand the program to other counties.
Safe Haven provides emergency shelter and other services for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.
To reach its crisis hotline, call 327-6040 or 800-890-6040.
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