Origins of the Practitioners’ Network
When the phenomenon of domestic violence was ‘discovered’ in the
1970’s, the emphasis, quite rightly, by activists and
campaigners was on gaining recognition of the existence and
extent of the problem, and the need for services to protect
women and children. This was not an easy task. For nearly thirty
years Women's Aid has been the organisation in Britain which has
been in the forefront of this work. They have offered practical
help and emotional support to countless women and their children
who have suffered violence and abuse in its many forms, as well
as challenging institutional and community tolerance of men's
violence and campaigning for social change and legal reforms.
Until the late twentieth century the focus left the
perpetrators, although condemned for their violence in
principle, chiefly untouched. A growing body of evidence had
revealed that domestic violence is widespread and overwhelmingly
perpetrated on women by men. However these men remained
invisible and largely unaccountable for their behaviour. In the
late 1980’s, spurred on by government plans to divert offenders
away from prosecution, some activists in Scotland were
considering how domestic violence offenders could better be
dealt with by the courts. It was acknowledged that the usual
fines and probation orders were unsatisfactory in holding
offenders to account or promoting women’s safety. Growing
awareness of work in America, in particular of the Domestic
Abuse Intervention Project in Duluth, Minnesota, led to plans to
pilot re-education programmes for abusive men which required
them to take responsibility for their abuse and learn other ways
of relating to their partner. In 1989 and 1990 respectively, two
Scottish programmes for abusive men, CHANGE in Central Scotland,
and the Lothian Domestic Violence Probation Project were set up.
In order to highlight the criminal and unacceptable nature of
men's violence to women the programmes were to operate as a
sanction of the justice system. By locating the work within the
justice system it demonstrates to men, to women and to the
community at large that violence to any member of that community
is illegal and socially unacceptable. Issues about the safety of
women and children involved were taken into account and both
agencies share with Women’s Aid a feminist analysis of the roots
of men's violence. That analysis sees men's violence to partners
as intentional and as but one aspect of a whole range of abusive
behaviours, which have the purpose of maintaining male dominance
over women. That male dominance is rooted in history and culture
and reflected in institutional responses and traditional
community tolerance of marital violence.
In the early 1990’s other agencies throughout the UK began
developing men’s programmes. From a conference in January 1992
hosted by CHANGE to enable practitioners to meet and share
ideas, there developed the National Practitioners’ Network,
which has subsequently met every six months. The Network is an
informal grouping of bodies. It has no formal membership and no
one is in charge. Agencies take turns to host meetings around
the country and meetings have been held from Plymouth to
Edinburgh. These meetings provide opportunities to meet and
discuss common issues, to subject practice to peer scrutiny, to
offer guidance to newcomers and to give each other support. A
summary list of previous meetings is on the next page.
In 1998 a steering group was formed to develop a
membership-based organisation alongside the Network. At a
steering group meeting in February 2000 a formal constitution
was adopted and a committee elected to form a body provisionally
called
Respect.
Respect; The National Association for Domestic Violence
Perpetrator Programmes and Associated Support Services, was
officially launched at the House of Commons on 7 March 2001.
Working to agreed standards and conforming to practice
guidelines forms the basis for membership.
