Analysis and good practices: the role of men in combating violence There is a growing awareness and activity in Europe regarding the necessity of programmes

targeting perpetrators of domestic violence, including IPV. The country reports show that

perpetrator programmes have recently been established in a number of EU countries. Box 5.1.3 - Good practices in preventing violence at European level

Work with Perpetrators of Domestic Violence in Europe

The European Commission's Daphne II Programme to combat violence against children, young peo-

ple and women and the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth funded the project Work with Perpetrators of Domestic Violence in Europe. Project partners of

seven European countries ran the project from 2006 to 2008. Beneficiary target groups of the project were victims, direct target groups were perpetrators. “The main goal of the project was to increase the

safety of the victims of domestic violence by fostering a European exchange about good practice in the work with male perpetrators of domestic violence. As an important step to reach this aim, the pro- ject established an Internet database with detailed information about programmes working with male perpetrators of domestic violence in the EU […] As a second step, the project intends to stimulate the debate at European level about methodological and ethical requirements for responsible work, particu- larly with regard to the protection of victims of domestic violence and about necessary measures of documentation and evaluation. For these reasons, the project prepared guidelines for the develop- ment of standards for programmes working with male perpetrators of domestic violence and important aspects regarding documentation and evaluation […] The main target group for using the collected information are practitioners working with male perpetrators of domestic violence and professionals

who are confronted with domestic violence in the context of their daily work, such as police, prosecu- tion authorities, women's shelters, helplines, counselling centres and others. Beyond that, results should support decision makers and policy to foster domestic violence intervention strategies and to improve the framework conditions for the work with perpetrators/perpetrator programmes.”

(http://www.work-with-perpetrators.eu/en/project.php)

At the same time, combating men’s violence – and violence in general – is a task that in- cludes extended societal change. A very important contribution of men to gender equality is the fight against their own and other men’s affinity to violence. Men themselves should be

motivated to act against gender based violence, since their voice can be more audible for

other men who are likely to use violence. As Martin Jura from Czech League of Open Men is quoted: “The best strategies to get men involved in the discussion on masculinity is to choose appropriate means to address them, either directly (through group work and counsel- ling) or via media campaigns and open space discussions. The most effective approach seems to be men speaking to men. It seems to be more effective than having women try to explain what is the best for men and why gender stereotypes are hurting men as well.“ (Rux- ton & v.d. Gaag, 2012) Therefore, the number of initiatives by men targeting other men should definitely increase, and the good practice examples presented below should be im- plemented broadly and transferred to countries where such initiatives are still missing.

Box 5.1.4 - Good practices in preventing men’s violence at national level

Ireland

MOVE (Men Overcoming Violence) provides counselling for men to help them overcome violence and

change their attitude to women. There is some evidence also that domestic violence intervention pro- grammes in Ireland have been effective and a potential lead for other countries to follow but their low participant numbers mean that should not be considered a lone response. (See Hanlon, 2011)

Germany

In 2007 the HEROES project was started by Strohhalm e.V in Berlin. Young men with a migration background from areas with a ‘culture of honour‘ engage against honour-related oppression and sup- port equal rights and equality between women and men. The main aim of the project is to improve the situation of women and girls. The project consists of two parts: a nine months ‘awareness training’ for young men between 17 and 23 is followed by practical work, for example workshops at schools, train- ing centres and youth clubs where they share their awareness with other young people. The work- shops are based on role-play methods. After the role-play the participants are encouraged to explain the scenes and discuss to which extent they represent daily violence and suppression. Young HE-

ROES provide an example for other young men and demonstrate also towards girls that they think

critically about the role men play towards women in cultures of honour and that they want to support gender equality. (http://www.heroes-net.de/)

Malta

A perpetrators' programme was set up in January 1999 and is run by Agenzija Appogg. The pro- gramme assists men who are abusive in intimate relationships with becoming aware of the situation as well as with understanding and taking responsibility for their behaviour. This is done through atten- dance in a group programme running over 22 weeks. Prior to acceptance to the programme, perpetra- tors are individually assessed by a professional as to their suitability for the group. It is hoped that through attendance in the programme perpetrators will be helped to change from being abusive to being respectful in their beliefs and, subsequently, in their behaviour towards women. Service users are also provided with a social work service, if required. After the group programme, participants are also encouraged to receive continued support through an open support group. The service liaises with

the Domestic Violence Unit in cases when social workers from the Unit are working with the perpetra-

an individual basis is also provided in times of crises and in containing a difficult situation. (See Camil- leri-Cassar, 2011)

Norway

Norway’s anti-violence policy has included treatment for violent men already since the 1980s, with ‘Alternatives to Violence’ (ATV) centres offering treatment (established in 1987, now this foundation has 8-9 centres around the country). This policy was at first controversial but has been generally ac- cepted as positive. Today´s ATV centres offer treatment to women as well as to male violators and have developed cooperation with shelters for victims of violence. (See Holter & Blindheim-Andersen, 2011)

Poland

Members of the Mężczyźni na Rzecz Równości [Men for Equality] informal group, in cooperation with

Towarzystwo Interwencji Kryzysowej [Society for Crisis Intervention], have organised workshops for

men who wanted to start changing traditional male roles, attitudes and behaviours and thus fighting male violence against women in Poland. As a founder of Towarzystwo Interwencji Kryzysowej, Anna Lipowska-Teutsch wrote: “The Mężczyźni na rzecz zmiany project aimed at creating culturally ade-

quate modules which were supposed to appeal to Polish experiences, Polish history, tradition and customs. These types of workshops are supposed to help boys/men with breaking free from patterns of behaviour combining masculinity with aggression and self-destruction.” (Lipowska-Teutsch, 2006, p.

94) During the project, several workshops with groups of boys and men were conducted. The team of educators consisted of both the members of the Mężczyźni na Rzecz Równości group and of profes- sional psychologists. Workshops were “[…] conducted for different groups of participants (boys only,

coeducation groups, high school students, vocational school students, community home members, residential facility for boys with learning and/or emotional difficulties) and with different complements of educators (two women, two men, man and woman). The workshops took place by groups of 15 people and lasted 90 minutes.” (Lipowska–Teutsch & Ryłko, 2006, p. 104)

Slovenia

The Association against Violent Communication is the first and the only non-governmental organisa- tion in Slovenia which, from 2004 on, has been offering counselling to perpetrators and social skills trainings for men who commit violence against women. They stress that the existing system of sanc- tioning does not provide opportunities for perpetrators to take responsibility for their violent acts, ana- lyse their behaviour and attitudes and become informed by the principles of equality between women and men. (See Hrženjak, 2011)

Sweden

There is, for instance, Män för jämställdhet [Men for gender equality] working for equality and against male violence. The organisation has initiated projects on men and equality, funded by the government. Other Swedish organisations focussing on men are Crises Centres for Men, which are established in six cities. At the centres men can get therapeutic help from professional therapists with a focus mainly on men experiencing situations of crisis but also on men and violence. There are shelters focussing on men, but on a non-professional basis. Unlike those for women, which focus on victims of violence, they focus on men in different kinds of relationship crises. (See Balkmar, 2011)