The Community Services Directorate has issued new practice standards for men’s behaviour to change programs and improve the safety of women and children.
Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, Yvette Berry endorsed the ACT Practice Standards: Men’s Behaviour Change Programs, saying they would assist services to provide safe and successful programs that supported men who used violence to change their behaviour.
“Men’s domestic and family violence behaviour change programs are primarily group-based programs that seek to hold men who perpetrate violence to account for their behaviour and work with them to change that behaviour,” Ms Berry said.
“Practice standards help services to ensure that they are delivering behaviour change programs in a consistent way that is in line with best practice, are driven by the imperative to enhance safety for women and children, and are framed by an understanding of the dynamics of domestic and family violence,” she said.
“For example, there are a number of practice standards related to risk assessment to ensure that any potential risks to women and children are identified and responded to appropriately.”
Ms Berry said the Practice Standards would support service providers to deliver programs in the safest ways possible for victim-survivors, including children.
“We know that, in order to effectively combat this serious issue as a community, we need to shift the blame from victims and place accountability on those who use violence,” she said.
“We recognise that holding perpetrators of domestic and family violence to account and offering them opportunities to address and change this behaviour is a critical component in a coordinated response to domestic and family violence in the ACT.”
Ms Berry said the development of the Practice Standards was recommended in the 2020 Reducing Domestic and Family Violence in the ACT: Perpetrator Project Report.
The Directorate’s 27-page Practice Standards can be accessed at this PS News link.
