Desistance From Intimate Partner Violence

• DOI: 10.1177/0886260514553634
• Publication Date: 2014-10-15T03:35:46Z
• Authors: Kate Walker; Erica Bowen; Sarah Brown; Emma Sleath
• Keywords: Adult; Male; intimate partner violence; Intimate Partner Violence; Models, Psychological; FoR 1701 (Psychology); 5. Gender equality; Adaptation, Psychological; Humans; Social Change; Life Style; desistance; 360; 05 social sciences; FoR 1607 (Social Work); Articles; 16. Peace & justice; Aggression; practical model; treatment and intervention; process of change; Spouse Abuse; FoR 1602 (Criminology); Female; 0509 other social sciences; Men's Health

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is an international issue that social and criminal justice workers will encounter regularly. It has been identified that men can, and do stop using, or desist from, IPV although it is unclear how this process of change develops. This article introduces a conceptual model to outline how the process of desistance evolves and what it encompasses. Using thematic analysis of interview data from partner-violent men, survivors, and treatment facilitators, the resulting model demonstrates that the process of change is a dynamic one where men’s use of, and cessation from, violence needs to be understood within the context of each individual’s life. Three global themes were developed: (a) lifestyle behaviors (violent): what is happening in the men’s lives when they use violence; (b) catalysts for change: the triggers and transitions required to initiate the process of change; and (c) lifestyle behaviors (non-violent): what is different in the men’s lives when they have desisted from IPV. The purpose of this model is to offer a framework for service providers to assist them to manage the process of change in partner-violent men.