CHANGE 1991-1992 ANNUAL REPORT   Foreword CHANGE has continued to develop and progress over the past year with the ongoing support of the Courts in Central Region. In formal terms, all concerned await with interest the outcome of a research and evaluation study funded by the Home and Scottish Offices which began in May 1991. Project staff have continued to encourage collaborative inter-agency practice over domestic violence and to offer training and consultancy to other professionals working in this area. It is particularly pleasing to note that during the last year a positive relationship has developed between staff of the recently formed Offenders Section of the Social Work Department and Project staff which promises much for the development of imaginative practice in this important work. This Annual Report will be of interest to those for whom the issue is already an agenda item. I commend it to many others whose interest might lie in exploring effective innovations in this area of work. Ian Ross Director of Social Work Central Regional Council   COMMENT FROM THE CHIEF CONSTABLE As Chief Constable of Central Scotland Police I am pleased once again to be allowed the opportunity to endorse the work currently being undertaken by the CHANGE Project. No longer can ‘Domestic Violence’ be treated as anything other than criminal; however, due to its sensitive nature, people have to be trained to understand the complexities of working in this area. Having a project such as CHANGE in Central Region has allowed my own officers direct contact with its co-ordinators who are now regular visitors to my Training Department, giving inputs to many in-service courses. I was particularly pleased in January this year to welcome delegates from all over Britain and from a host of professional backgrounds to Stirling University to explore and focus on current work practice and experience in responding to domestic violence, which proved to be of benefit to all who participated. Changes in work practice and attitudes towards such a sensitive issue as domestic violence take time, and I look forward to a further year of development and innovation, allowing for a more professional approach to this issue. William Wilson Chief Constable Central Scotland Police   CONVENOR’S REPORT On behalf of the Management Committee, I am pleased to introduce the CHANGE Project’s second Annual Report. The Project is now well into its third year. As will be seen within the Project’s own report it continues to develop and expand, both in the operation of the men’s programme and in the growth of CHANGE training, information and consultation work with a wide variety of agencies within Central Region and Britain as a whole. The Management Committee itself has developed considerably despite changes in its membership. We were particularly sorry to lose our founder members, Doctors Rebecca and Russell Dobash due to their move to Wales but look forward to retaining professional contact with them in other aspects of CHANGE’s work. During the last year the Management Committee has increasingly developed a positive managerial style, effectively utilising the varied backgrounds and diverse skills of its members. This process has been assisted greatly by Central Regional Council’s creation of an Urban Forum and other training initiatives. The Management Committee would also like to extend its appreciation to the members of the Advisory Group, individuals whose work brings them into contact with domestic violence. Their contributions have proved most stimulating and informative for both Committee members and Project staff. During the last year we have seen the introduction of 100% Government funding of Social Work services in the Criminal Justice system. For the CHANGE Project, the setting up of a specialist offender service has brought improved liaison at management level and with social workers. Possible implications of 100% funding on the future funding of the Project are presently being examined by the Management Committee in close partnership with the Social Work Department. The dedication of the staff, Dorothy Anderson (Administrator), David Morran and Monica Wilson (Joint Co-ordinators) remains a major factor in the Project’s development to date and I welcome this opportunity of thanking them on behalf of the Management Committee for their efforts and achievements. Sue McLaughlin Convenor CHANGE Project   THE CHANGE PROJECT The CHANGE Project was established in September 1989 following the committed work of a number of individuals from Women’s Aid, the legal, academic and social work professions, whose efforts had been successful in securing Urban Aid Funding through the sponsorship of Central Regional Council Social Work Department. The main aims of the Project are to deliver a criminal justice based re-education programme for men who have been violent to their wives or female partners, to encourage collaborative inter-agency practice over domestic violence, to offer training and consultancy to other professionals working in this area and, through publications, the holding of conferences and contributions to other conferences, to raise generally the profile of the issue of domestic violence.   Staffing and management CHANGE is staffed by two co-ordinators and an administrator. Staff are responsible to a management committee comprising representatives of Scottish and local Women's Aid and individuals who are concerned to achieve the goals of CHANGE. A Constitution lays down the objectives and functions of the organisation. Management committee meetings are held on a six-weekly cycle. In addition, an Advisory Group comprising representatives of local statutory and voluntary agencies meets twice yearly to provide advice and information to the management committee.   The memberships of both these bodies are listed at the end of this report.   The CHANGE Programme perspective CHANGE’s position is that men's violence towards their female partners stems from a fundamental inequality in the male/ female relationship which is rooted in patriarchy, and engenders men's need to secure and maintain power and control in relationships. From this perspective, men's abuse of and violence towards women is seen as learned and intentional behaviour rather than the consequence of individual pathology, stress, alcohol abuse or the fact that he lives in a 'dysfunctional relationship'. Traditionally men have been assumed to have the right to exercise power and control over women and children, both in general terms as well as in personal relationships. Ultimately the wider responsibility for solving the problems of family violence lies with a change in social attitudes and changes in the way our institutions respond to these manifestations of male power. Within this context, programmes for men who abuse women are viewed only as one aspect of a wider responsibility for society to change. CHANGE PROGRESS REPORT 1991-1992 The Project CHANGE's work over the year 1991-1992 has been to continue running the men's programme as a criminal justice resource, to review the programme structure and content, and to continue developing our training and consultancy remit.   The Men's Programme Referrals and throughput Up to the end of March 1992 a total of 70 men had been referred to CHANGE for consideration for the men's programme. Of these 42 were requests for assessment reports from Falkirk Sheriff Court, 17 from Stirling Sheriff Court, 6 from Alloa Sheriff Court and 5 were enquiries from social workers. Over this last year we have assessed 27 men of whom 17 were considered suitable for the programme, 2 we were unable to contact to undertake assessments and 8 men were assessed unsuitable. Among the main reasons for considering men unsuitable are the man's denial of any responsibility for his violence or his unwillingness to address the issue and therefore unlikelihood of his benefitting from the programme; the prevalence of a serious drug or alcohol problem; or a work commitment, such as a job off-shore, which would make him unable to attend the programme. Of the 17 assessed as suitable candidates, 15 men were referred to the programme by the courts but in 2 cases this option was not taken up. Of those 15 men referred, 1 failed to start the programme, 1 is temporarily suspended due to another crisis in his personal life and 1 has been suspended for disruptive and unco-operative behaviour. Five have completed the programme, 4 are currently on it and 3 are waiting to commence. Since April 1991 a total of 12 men finished the programme working in groups of four or five and completing 18 sessions on average. A further seven have still to finish.   Eligibility and referral The main referral sources for the men's programme are the three Sheriff Courts in Central Region and Central Region Social Work Department. Courts outwith Central Region may also refer appropriate Central Region residents to the programme. Sheriffs may call for a CHANGE assessment to be carried out at the same time as the preparation of a Social Enquiry Report (SER) by social workers. Alternatively social workers may ask for a CHANGE assessment where they identify a domestic violence problem while undertaking an SER, or may suggest the Court defer sentence pending such an assessment. CHANGE is also willing to consider accepting men who are on parole. The assessment process CHANGE staff interview and assess prospective participants for the programme and submit assessment reports to Courts. The main factors which are central to the assessment process are: the man's history of using violence; his willingness to take responsibility for his actions and motivation to change; his own understanding of why he used violence; his willingness to attend the programme and the likelihood of his benefitting from it. He is also shown the Agreement to Participate (see following two pages), the contract he will be asked to sign if he is to be accepted onto the programme, and he is asked at this stage whether he feels able to commit himself to the terms laid out in it. The safety of the woman concerned is of critical importance and is therefore taken into account. Staff liaise with the social worker concerned with the SER to discuss the man’s suitablility for the programme. Other factors which are considered at this stage include practical issues and the man's physical and mental competence to participate in the CHANGE programme. For example, men employed working off-shore are unlikely to be able to fulfil the participation requirements. Those with a serious alcohol or drugs related problem would not be considered suitable for immediate inclusion, although CHANGE may indicate a willingness to accept such a man at a future date following some demonstration that his problem is being satisfactorily addressed.   CHANGE Men’s Programme AGREEMENT TO PARTICIPATE   Name: ...................................................... Address ......................................................   1. I agree that I am violent to my partner and that I am willing to stop my violence. 2. On I was required by Court to participate in the CHANGE Men's Programme as directed, and as a requirement of a Probation Order. 3. I agree to complete at least 16 sessions of the Programme. 4. I agree to participate in the CHANGE Men's Programme as directed. 5. I agree to abide by the rules of the CHANGE Programme. I agree to contact CHANGE (Tel. Stirling 71215) if I am going to be absent due to illness or other urgent reason. I must make up any session missed. I understand that missing sessions without an explanation acceptable to CHANGE may result in my suspension from the Programme and referral back to the Social Work Department. 7. I understand that CHANGE will report information regarding my attendance and participation in the Programme, or any acts of violence to the Social Work Department. 8. I understand that CHANGE will contact my partner to give her information concerning the CHANGE Programme and my involvement there. She will also be advised if I am put off the CHANGE Programme before completion. 9. I understand that violations of Probation conditions are grounds for referral back to Court and may mean my removal from the Programme. I have read this and understand my requirements with the CHANGE Programme.   Participant ........................................ Social Worker ................................... Witness ........................................ Date ......./....../...........   Where all these factors indicate that a man is a suitable candidate for the programme, this is stated in the assessment report to the Court. When he next appears before the Court the Sheriff may then refer him to CHANGE as an additional requirement of a probation order.   Programme style The programme is at present working with its fifth group of men. Initially it had been planned that the groups would operate on a rolling basis with men coming into a group as they were referred by the Courts. This is the model which appears to have been successfully adopted by some North American programmes and has the advantage of speed of take-up of referrals. We began by working with a small group of men as we developed the programme style and content. This first group remained closed allowing us to monitor the programme's content and men's progress closely. With our second group we started to operate the programme on a rolling basis but our experience was that this system has a number of drawbacks. Newcomers find some of the material difficult and old hands resent going back over material with which they consider themselves familiar. It is difficult to progress through the content of the curriculum when different men are at different stages of the programme. The group does not readily develop a cohesive identity or group loyalty and this affects attendance and commitment to the work. Consequently it was decided that we close the group and our present practice is to work with a cohort of men each time.   Programme content Last year's annual report gave a detailed breakdown of the men's programme content which is still of relevance. The main objectives of the programme are to confront and challenge men's attitudes and behaviour, develop their capacity to accept responsibility for their actions and equip them with new skills which will enable them to relate non-violently towards their partners. Men on the programme are required to attend a two-hour group session once a week for a minimum period of sixteen weeks. The sessions are held in local community premises in Stirling and Falkirk during afternoons or evenings. Men must complete a series of modules; self contained units which have set content, participation and completion criteria. Each module focuses on issues relating to men's use of various forms of violence, factors which underlie this behaviour and how it may be overcome. The group's working style is structured and highly participative, and includes classwork and homework which men must complete as part of their contract with the programme. Our work on the programme this year has involved refining the content and documenting such changes as have been made. The men's own evaluations of the programme have also been utilised in shaping its development. Follow-up work Another feature of the past year is the instigation of follow-up work. As working arrangements with the new Offender Teams in the Social Work Department were developed so we examined how men make the transition from working in the programme to individual work with their social worker. Men now enter a short follow-up phase after completion of the core programme. Over a period of seven or eight weeks the group continues to meet on a fortnightly basis during which time individual meetings are held with each man and his social worker. These meetings focus upon identifying areas of individual work that the man can incorporate into his probation action plan which will help him to continue working on his goal of relating non-violently to his female partner.   Monitoring and evaluation CHANGE staff account to the CHANGE Management Committee on issues of programme format and review. CHANGE monitors and reviews the impact of the programme on men's attitudes and conduct throughout their required period of attendance. Interim and completion reports and meetings with social workers form an essential part of this process. On men's completion of the programme CHANGE provides written reports to Courts. In addition to CHANGE's own monitoring, independent research into the effectiveness of work with domestic violence offenders, including the CHANGE Programme, is being funded by the Home Office and Scottish Office and commenced in July 1991. Training and consultancy work The first phase of the CHANGE Project focused on the development and operation of the men's programme. The second phase addressed the training and educational role of the Project. This role is directed at providing professional and voluntary agencies with an informed perspective on domestic violence in order to encourage and influence practice within a co-ordinated community response to this problem. A wider community educative role is also part of the Project's general educational function. CHANGE's strategy in relation to its training and education remit has been both proactive in terms of initiating debate, and reactive in terms of responding to requests for knowledge, consultation and information.   Agency-based training CHANGE has an agency-based training strategy to inform and influence practice in relation to domestic violence. This involves input at trainee and in-service levels. During the period May 1991 - April 1992 CHANGE had input into the training of specialist offender workers in Central and Fife Regions; community health service workers; social work students; psychology postgraduate students; and police senior constables and promoted sergeants. Requests for information and assistance Since the Project began CHANGE has received hundreds of requests for general information regarding the men's programme, and for assistance, consultation and support in developing policy and practice in relation to domestic violence. These requests have come from a range of agencies and bodies including social work, probation departments, the police, women's units and Women's Aid. In response, CHANGE has developed a database documenting the nature of the enquiry, the agency or individual concerned, the date and the action taken by CHANGE in response. All such contacts are also recorded on a central mailing list to receive information about CHANGE publications and public events.   CHANGE conferences From the inception of the Project CHANGE recognised that there was a widespread interest in working with men. We were also aware that there was more experience in this kind of work in North America than in the UK. We were fortunate that we were able to draw upon the links already made by representatives of the CHANGE steering group with some North American programmes. Thus in 1990 we held two conferences which featured speakers and workshop leaders from established North American men's programmes. Both these events attracted interest from a wide range of agencies and delegates attended from Britain and abroad. However, as CHANGE has developed we have become increasingly aware of the growth of a variety of initiatives in both the statutory and voluntary sectors aimed at tackling various aspects of domestic violence within Britain. We felt CHANGE could benefit from more contact with those involved. We wanted to learn from others and to share our experiences of working in this area. Consequently from 29 - 31 January 1992 we held another conference 'Responding to Domestic Violence: Practice and Experience', to offer an opportunity for practitioners and those interested in establishing initiatives to examine different perspectives and methods of working with perpetrators or victims of domestic violence, and the issues these raise concerning future policy and practice. That our interest was shared by others working in this area was confirmed by the response we received to the advance information about the conference. The limited number of conference places was soon taken up and 110 participants attended. Those attending came from a range of agencies and organisations both statutory and voluntary. From the statutory sector there were participants from the police, social work and probation departments, court officials, youth service workers, health workers, and local goverment members and officials. From the voluntary sector there were people from Women's Aid, men's groups, alcohol counselling agencies and community projects. There were also participants from co-ordinating bodies and academic researchers. The conference comprised a number of different events. During the two and a half days participants were able to attend a short conference session, a practitioners' panel, three (of four) workshops, video viewing sessions, special interest groups, small working groups and a final plenary session. The conference was opened by the Chief Constable of Central Scotland Police, Mr William Wilson who welcomed the coming together of people from such diverse disciplines and perspectives to learn about each others' work. The first session was a conference style series of presentations. It opened with a contribution from Professor Rebecca Emerson Dobash from the University of Wales College of Cardiff. Professor Dobash set the tone for the conference in her address in which she talked of ‘the dream of change’. Referring to the battered women’s movement which demonstrates how pragmatic action can lead to political action and radical renewal, she charged everyone to be alert to the recognition of real change as opposed to the illusion of change, and to distinguish what is possible from what is not. Helen Attewell, Co-ordinator of the Keighley Domestic Violence Forum then spoke of the aims and experience of developing a domestic violence forum. The main aim of the Forum is to bring different statutory and voluntary agencies together to improve services for survivors of violence, raise awareness of the issue, and to plug any gaps in provision by developing new services. In this way the Forum is attempting to create an integrated approach to tackling the problem of violence in the home. The conference then heard from Sergeant Collette Paul of the Metropolitan Police who spoke about why and how the first Police Domestic Violence Units were set up and how they operate in practice. The second session consisted of a practitioners' panel when the four agencies who would be undertaking workshops over that afternoon and the following day were each given the opportunity to make a short presentation about their agency and its perspective and work: themes which would be developed and explored in the individual workshops. The agencies were Women's Aid, CHANGE, MOVE, and North Wales Probation Service. Women's Aid spoke of their perspective and experience of working with abused women and their children and their view on working with violent men. CHANGE gave an outline of its approach to working with men in a criminal justice context. MOVE spoke of the work undertaken with men who come to their men's programme on a voluntary basis. North Wales Probation Service outlined the more general work undertaken by them in working with violent offenders in the community. Each of these organisations ran two two-hour workshops over the next day and a half. These were organised to permit conference participants to attend three out of the four different workshops on offer, and to allow workshop leaders to attend each others' sessions. We were aware that, given the range of organisations which were represented at the conference, the event had brought together people working in the same general area of domestic violence but whose perspectives, priorities and working practices were not necessarily in agreement with each other. We were also aware that different groups brought different agendas with them and we both expected and received mixed reactions to the conference content and style. We hoped that this event would be an opportunity for this diversity to be examined in a positive manner and that there would be a constructive exchange of viewpoints and experiences. We hoped to achieve some progress towards the development of a network for policy makers and practitioners whereby mutually agreed principles might inform the development of all of us working with the common goal of eliminating domestic violence. As might be expected from such a gathering, as the conference progressed various areas of conflict came to the surface and emotions sometimes ran high. Feedback from participants demonstrated the opposing views present. Some expressed a criticism that the event was too organised leaving little space for participants to set the agenda. They felt frustrated and over-controlled. Others felt it had been left too open and would have welcomed more organisation of, for example, the special interest groups. Some felt the workshops were too presentational in style, others expressed satisfaction with this format. On the final morning, in response to the expressed desire of participants, it was agreed that we depart from the planned programme and instead of a session of workshop feedbacks, we break into small groups to discuss issues, values, principles of good practice and proposals for future working together. This proved a productive decision and the wrap-up session where the main points from the small groups were presented and discussed indicate that despite differences, there is an acknowledgement from all parties that we stand to gain more from co-operation than dissent. There appears to be a willingness to work towards developing shared principles for good practice. The main proposals emerging from the conference were: - A resolution by all organisations and agencies to work jointly to tackle domestic violence by agreeing common aims and accountability - The development of local and national networking which should work towards an agreed set of principles. - A central information bank to facilitate the exchange of ideas - The setting up of more Police Domestic Violence Units The full Conference Report is available from CHANGE. Future developments CHANGE is now in its third year of an initial four year period of funding under the Urban Programme. This next year will see the development of a strategic plan which will focus on how we see the work of the Project developing in the future. In addition to the continued work to be undertaken within the men's programme and the monitoring of the standard and quality of the service this provides to both participants and liaising agencies, there are a number of additional proposals which CHANGE is currently considering. For example there has been consistent interest from many working within the prison service as to whether CHANGE might establish model groups for inmates as part of an enhanced package of throughcare. There have also been a great many requests and proposals for CHANGE to undertake further training events at both pre- and post-social work qualifying levels, as well as to provide a stimulating and demanding placement for students or seconded workers. Over the next few months CHANGE will be seeking advice, comments and engaging in discussion with a range of organisations and agencies on how best to build on the pilot work the Project has undertaken so far. We are looking forward to an exciting future and to playing our part in helping end men's violence against women.   REPORT FROM WOMEN’S AID Women’s Aid has had a long term commitment to CHANGE, which continues through 1991-92. There are now three main parts to this commitment: Representation on the Management Committee Support of the partners of men on the CHANGE programme Input to conferences hosted by CHANGE. There are currently one national and three Central Region Women’s Aid representatives on the CHANGE Management Committee. The function of this representation is primarily to ensure that the needs of the partners of men attending the men’s programme, and abused women generally, are represented in the policy of initiatives such as this. This aim is also furthered in a practical way by the support offered by Women’s Aid to partners of the men on the programme. This support, and consequent increase in workload, is recognised by the financial contribution which each local group receives from the CHANGE project. In addition, in February of this year, two national Women’s Aid workers presented two workshops at CHANGE’s conference on domestic violence issues, held at the University of Stirling. These workshops were well received and helped to stimulate the lively discussion which surrounded the conference. A more detailed account of the conference is included elsewhere in this report. Women’s Aid is pleased that, after two years of referrals, the evaluation/research study is now underway. As part of this research, the women in the local refuges, and some who have recently left, have been approached by the researchers to complete questionnaires and interviews detailing their experiences. This ensures that the views of the women who have suffered abuse are taken into account in the evaluation process. Women’s Aid looks forward with interest to the completion of this research, and envisages that the links we have established with the CHANGE Project, and the women affected by it, will be maintained in the future.   Management Committee Professor Sally Brown Shona Campbell (Secretary) Elizabeth Kennedy Doris Littlejohn (Treasurer) James McCormick Sue McLaughlin (Convenor) Graeme McRoberts Vicki Roth Margaret Taylor Helen Whincup   Advisory Group Ms Eva Comrie, Solicitor Mr Peter Crow, Sheriff Clerk Cllr Moira Fitzpatrick, Central Regional Council Felicity McClelland, Women’s Officer Mr Anthony McNulty Ms Anne Morrison, Scottish Women’s Aid Inspector Sam Muir, Central Scotland Police Sheriff A J Murphy Sheriff A V Sheehan Ms Sharon Stirrat, Victim Support Scheme Ms Senga Turner, Education Department Mr Keith Valentine, Procurator Fiscal Cllr Anne Wallace, Central Regional Council Mrs Muriel Young, Forth Valley Health Board Sheriff R E G Younger   Project Staff Dorothy Anderson Administrator David Morran and Monica Wilson Joint Co-ordinators                A charitable company limited by guarantee registered in Scotland No 183989             Scottish Charity No SCO18322          CHANGE acknowledges funding from the Scottish Executive