BIPS: what's your take?

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-10-2005
BIPS: what's your take?
6
Sun, 06-11-2006 - 7:24am

I'm new here :) have any of you had any experience with partners doing a batterers intervention program? I'm just curious to hear your experiences. Thanks :)

~~Melanie~~

"Certified batterer's intervention programs provide services in very strict group settings to try to help batterer's learn to accept responsibility for their violence, as well as understand and change their controlling and abusive behavior.
The groups are led by certified batterers intervention counselors trained in dealing with domestic violence offenders. The programs work with the courts and victim services to help make sure that partners of batterers remain safe. The programs may involve weekly sessions of 1 to 2 hours in length. The batterer must participate in the program for a minimum of 80 hours. Group leaders feel your safety is a priority concern and will keep ongoing contact with you."

In the program in my area, it's court mandated when a domestic assault occurs...it also costs the batterers 35 bucks a week! Sometimes the blockheads get it, sometimes they don't. I don't have numbers on the success rates, but when I find them at work tomorrow, I'll post 'em.

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-05-2004
Sun, 06-11-2006 - 9:26pm

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From what I've heard, this pretty much sums up the effectiveness of such programs- they may get it, or they may not. Like any other type of therapy, it all depends on the individual's willingness to change and accept help, which abusers are not what you want to call good at. I found this article interesting, particularly as it relates to BIPs and custody situations.

http://www.law.duke.edu/journals/djglp/articles/gen11p121.htm

It's a bit heavy going, but very interesting stuff.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-10-2005
Sun, 06-11-2006 - 10:34pm
Thanks for the article.
I work in a shelter and am not a huge fan of bips...but our project has one and i promote it as an option...but usually last resort...beats the hell out of the "anger management" route...I sometimes wonder how dangerous it is when he's still having contact with his partner and he's all po'ed because he's dishing this cash out every week & having to talk about things he doesn't want to and being held accountable for things he doesn't feel are an issue...safety is always my number one issue with my residents and I sometimes wonder just how safe the women are who's partners participate...I'm rambling now :)
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-05-2004
Mon, 06-12-2006 - 12:10pm
My big issue with court-ordered BIPs is, therapy cannot be successful if someone is ordered into it. It is, basically, contingent upon the desire of the person to be helped, which ordering them to do it completely defeats the purpose of. While I have heard of the very, very occasional abuser who truly commits to change, I think that the only real cure in most cases is Smith & Wesson therapy. :P
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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-10-2005
Mon, 06-12-2006 - 10:34pm
ahhhhhhhhhhh the good ole S&W therapy concept...my fave, too ;)
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 06-13-2006 - 1:04pm
Hi sinfiniti...I also work for a shelter, but the batterer's program in our area isn't part of our program. It's run separately and the director of the program is part of our Community Response Team against domestic violence. He basically states that his program is effective with batterer's who are not really "batterer's" but men who made a mistake in judgement, the example he usually cites is about a man who got mad and threw a phone book at his girlfriend. There isn't control as the bottom line issue in some conflicts and those are the ones he uses to claim "success". He also states that, in general, in situations such as the it all the way through the program to begin with. He really loves and believes in what he does, so I think that he really is helping a certain segment of the population who don't really fit the batterer's profile, but are men who went too far in a conflict and have learned a valuable lesson. This is still a very small portion of who he serves though. I really think that any situation that inconveniences a batterer or goes against what they want adds to the danger level, including batterer's programs. We just never know who we're dealing with really. However, I haven't seen a case of these programs specifically bringing on a severe problem. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen. I just haven't seen it myself. In my personal experience, my own abusive ex from several years ago voluntarily joined one to try to win me back and attended the whole thing and it did NO good whatsoever in changing his beliefs and attitudes. (He wasn't like those other guys, you know) He used the $ he spent as proof of how much he was willing to go the extra mile to make it work. It was about 6 years ago that I joined this board as a victim who had just left the relationship. Since then, I served as a co-host to this board for a long while (not at this time though), and a little over a year ago, changed my career to do public relations and development for my local DV program. I have seen many women on this board over the years pursue batterer's programs for their SO's or have had batterer's court ordered to go. I'm sure you're familiar with the results, some anger over having to go, not bothering to go, don't belong in that group, just get it over with, etc. Sad state of affairs, isn't it? Your program looks like a good one and could be effective in certain cases because it is so dang LONG. 80 hours, 1-2 hours a week. The one here is only 26 weeks, 2 hours each week. The longer, the better, frankly. Lundy Bancroft seems to think that long programs such as that stand a better chance.
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-10-2005
Thu, 06-15-2006 - 1:41pm

{{so I think that he really is helping a certain segment of the population who don't really fit the batterer's profile, but are men who went too far in a conflict and have learned a valuable lesson.}}

we have a separate director and it's a separate program under the umbrella of our project...but these are the men we see the most succes with, too...I'd love to see the program tweaked and taught in middle, high school & college!