B) CORRECTIONS

Bodnarchuk, Mark, P. Randall Kropp, James R.P. Ogloff, Stephen D. Hart, & Donald Dutton. Predicting Cessation of Intimate Assaultiveness after Group Treatment. Vancouver, BC: BC Institute on Family Violence, 1995.

This report describes the results of a research project undertaken to evaluate the success of group treatment for assaultive men in terms of the recidivism rates for wife assault. The study, grounded in a clinical psychological theoretical framework, includes a long-term follow-up (eleven years) of treated and untreated men in order to establish differences between the two groups; discusses a new evaluation model which indicates that expectations of immediate change may be unrealistic; and attempts to identify who benefits the most, or least, from treatment. A sample of men who were assessed by the Vancouver Assaultive Husbands Program (AHP) between 1982 and 1992 was obtained from AHP. Criminal records were located for all individuals in the sample, and follow-up periods were calculated using the information on the criminal records. The research subjects and their female partners were then contacted to participate in the study. Treatment clients (many of whom had participated in a previous study conducted by Dutton) and their partners were interviewed separately and asked to complete standardized questionnaires. The data were subjected to numerous quantitative analyses in order to determine whether the treatment had been successful in eliminating or reducing intimate violence. Psychological profiles of the males were also conducted in order to assess who benefited most from receiving treatment.

The research findings would appear to have policy implications for criminal justice and clinical personnel in terms of: (1) following up on clients ordered to attend treatment groups for assaultive men; (2) determining the types of men who are most likely to benefit from treatment; and (3) addressing the ethical issues of dealing with men who are not suitable for group treatment Very little, if any consideration is given to placing the issue of wife assault in a social context, nor to analyzing the issue from a critical or feminist perspective. This study is primarily geared towards researchers, clinicians and criminal justice personnel who operate within a mainstream conceptual framework.

This project was established in the fall of 1992, with the overall goals of (1) establishing a formal, coordinated approach for identifying and treating assaultive men at various stages in the criminal justice system, and (2) enhancing the overall level of protection for women in abusive relationships. In light of the mainstream theoretical perspective which informs the study, the focus of the study appears to be on designing and implementing a risk assessment guide as the primary tool for both, identifying and treating assaultive men, and protecting victims (i.e., women were warned that they were at risk of being re-assaulted by their partners).

The results of the study suggest that although the project was successful in developing a coordinated system of interaction between community and criminal justice agencies, more could be done to enhance the personal safety of wife assault victims. The results of the study also demonstrate the need to consult with the female partners of assaultive men in order to best determine these women's safety needs, particularly in light of the women's feedback that the use of a risk assessment was not that helpful to them. The project was limited to serving individuals with English as a first language; given the demographics in the municipality of Delta, the scope of this program would have to be extended to non-English speaking persons if it were to be implemented on a long-term basis.

This study introduces a new alternative for assaultive men who are awaiting trial. A "bail hostel" would be designed as a place where men could stay and receive counselling and access to programs, such as anger management classes, while they are waiting for their hearing. An alternative like this could help, at least temporarily, protect women from being assaulted and harassed by their partners.

This report comprises a literature review of the studies on programs for wife batterers, published prior to 1994, and was compiled as part of a larger study which was established to develop a set of guidelines for the delivery of assaultive men's programs within correctional centres in British Columbia (See the annotation for the article by Dale Trimble). Relevant materials for the review were collected from three sources: (1) the BC Institute on Family Violence; (2) a computerized search of the PsychINFO database; and (3) a computerized search of the library catalogues at the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University. In light of the study's objective, the literature review focuses on ethical concerns associated with assaultive men's programming, as well as the issues identified in the existing empirical research. The author does not explicitly identify the conceptual framework which guides the evaluative and analytical components of the literature review; however, statements made throughout the text suggest a pro-feminist philosophy.

This article describes the development of a new scale used to assess (and ultimately predict) the propensity for engaging in abuse of a female intimate partner. According to Dutton, the new assessment tool called the Propensity for Abusiveness Scale (PAS), contains items that are less likely to generate reactivity and social desirability effects than other existing abuse inventories that are currently in use as assessment tools.

The reliability and validity (including predictive validity) of the Propensity for Abusiveness Scale (PAS) were tested using data supplied by 140 men in treatment for wife assault and 63 of their female partners, as well as a control group consisting of 44 demographically matched men and 33 of their partners. A statistical analysis of the data indicated that the Propensity for Abusiveness Scale demonstrates an acceptable level of accuracy in classifying respondents' abusive propensities in relation to their female partners' reports of abusiveness. The initial results of a cross-validation procedure suggests the possibility of using the scale as a predictive instrument, subject to further testing.

The study is from a clinical psychology perspective, and focuses on individual behaviour rather than the social and political context in which abuse occurs; however, the results of the study may have important implications for the outcomes of court-mandated assessments of males charged with wife assault. This study will be of interest primarily to clinical psychology researchers, criminal justice personnel, and clinicians involved in conducting assessments.

The authors of this study hypothesize that there is a positive correlation between intimacy-anger, insecure attachment patterns in relationships, and a propensity for abusiveness (physical and psychological) in males who assault their female partners. In order to test this hypothesis, a sample of 160 males (120 males in a treatment group for assaultive husbands, 40 males in the control group) were assessed on attachment patterns, borderline personality organization (BPO), anger, jealousy, and trauma symptoms. Tests were administered to males in the treatment group either prior to treatment or within the first three weeks to minimize the effects of treatment on testing. In addition, 43 female partners of the assaultive men and 33 partners of men in the control group, completed the Psychological Maltreatment of Women Inventory, thereby providing additional data relating to their male partners' psychological abusiveness. According to the authors, the results of this clinical psychology study have significant implications for current treatment models that shape assaultive men's programs.

Given that the study is conducted from a clinical psychology perspective, it is understandable that the primary focus is on treatment applications for assaultive men. However, from a feminist perspective, the lack of consideration given to the implications arising from the emphasis on how and when attachment patterns are formed (i.e., as a young child and in response to the primary care-giver, which is usually the mother) is disturbing. The study also fails to consider that perhaps attachment patterns and responses to unmet needs are also influenced by patriarchal values and expectations about the roles of parents and female intimate partners. This study will be of interest primarily to researchers and clinicians who deal with assaultive men.

This manual outlines the core of the Aboriginal Spousal Assault Program. It is designed for Aboriginal men who recognize their abusive behaviour and wish to change. This manual addresses the many issues which must be dealt with in order to overcome abusive behaviour. The report details the steps of the program and makes suggestions for how it can be implemented both on and off reserve.

Ingratta and Johnson both experienced probation officers, in 1994 interviewed three of the four probation officers responsible for monitoring the implementation of protocols for probation officers, that had been developed and drafted as part of the Metro Toronto Woman Abuse Protocol Project -- a project mandated to improve responses of criminal justice system components to women experiencing abuse in their relationships, seventeen months after these protocols had been implemented. The objective of the research was to determine how probation officers felt about "domestic" assault cases, which in the past few years had become a significant portion of their caseload, and how they were responding to the protocols that had been developed and implemented by the Ministry of Correctional Services.

Ingratta and Johnson found compliance was high, 81.6 percent of victims were being contacted by probation officers. But while probation officers generally agreed that the protocol's mandated contact with the victim was necessary to ensure the offenders' compliance with probation conditions, they also felt that when their case loads included a high number of "domestic" violence cases and young offender cases, compliance with the protocol was extremely time consuming and posed increased stress and burnout problems for probation officers. Lack of people resources was not the only problem identified as hindering the effective implementation of the protocol's provisions. While the offender is provided with language interpreters as a matter of course when English is not his first language, the victim, who often because she does not work outside the home and as a result has poor English language skills, is not provided with a similar service. This language barrier significantly increases the time demanded of the probation officer in carrying out the mandated contact with the victim provision of the protocol. As well, lack of adequate funding by the Ministry means the provision of necessary counselling on a long-term basis for the victim, while gratifying, can not be done due to intolerable strain on the time and resources available.

Ingratta and Johnson found a number of other problems that hindered the effective implementation of the protocols by probation officers. For example, there was a lack of communication between Crown, and probation information needed to prepare pre-trial reports was often not available. In those cases where the offender re-offends, Crown failed to inform the probation officer, who was then unable to submit the required supervision summary to Crown before the new offence was dealt with. This, Ingratta and Johnson conclude, indicates that there is still a serious lack of communication among the various sectors of the criminal justice system. Disparity in sentences, which were often the result of personal biases, beliefs of judges, and the depth of their knowledge about the dynamic of abuse were other issues identified as problems. This disparity, Ingratta and Johnson claim indicate that the "enforcement of probation orders in domestic assault cases designed to rehabilitate offenders and/or prevent recidivism is an issue of little significance to certain agents in the criminal justice system" (1995:74). Also problematic were the contradictory probation conditions that judges issued and probation officers were expected to enforce. For example an order may state that the offender is not to "initiate contact with the victim" in one place, and state that the offender is not "to attend her residence without her written permission" in another. The consequence is that it is difficult to lay a breach, even if the probation officer knows that the victim has been coerced into giving the offender a note granting him access to her "personal and social space."

Finally Ingratta and Johnson point out that, because of Freedom of Information and Privacy legislation, there is a major conflict between the victims' right to know the status of the offender at all stages of the process and the conditions of his probation -- as the protocol mandates must take place -- and the offender's right to privacy. Ingratta and Johnson conclude that failure to adequately provide the resources necessary to ensure the implementation of the protocols at all levels of the criminal justice system indicates lack of the necessary will on the part of the government to carry out the mandate of the Metro Woman Abuse Protocol Project.

This report is an introductory manual on program evaluations. It is intended to aid those working with treatment programs for assaultive men. This manual outlines the reasons why program evaluations are necessary, their goals, guidelines and recommendations for conducting diverse types of program evaluations.

The manual includes a list of references which the authors feel are appropriate for those who wish to know more about program evaluations.

This manual was developed in response to an empirically demonstrated need for a set of guidelines that outline the procedures for conducting spousal assault risk assessments. The Spousal Assault Risk Assessment Guide (SARA) evolved out of a coordinated effort between several government and community-based organizations, including the BC Institute on Family Violence, the Forensic Psychiatric Services Commission, and the Ministry of Women's Equality. The SARA is a clinical checklist of risk factors associated with spousal assault, and is intended to be used as a systematic and comprehensive guide when conducting assessments for criminal justice purposes (i.e., sentencing). Although the manual is obviously constructed from a clinical psychological framework, the authors do recognize that most spousal assault is male-to-female assault and therefore focus the majority of their comments on wife assault. The manual consists of six substantive sections (a description of SARA and its construction, user qualifications, assessment procedures, coding, communicating findings, and the items on the checklist), a bibliography, and two appendices.

The authors' suggestions that the SARA guide might also be used in civil justice matters, to warn third parties, and as a tool for quality assurance and critical incident review (i.e., as a means for other parties such as lawyers or victims' advocates to check the quality of others' risk assessment procedures) raises a number of potentially interesting policy implications, including, for example, its admissibility in divorce or child custody cases that were precipitated by violence. This manual will be of interest to researchers, clinical practitioners, legal professionals in the criminal and civil justice systems, and women's organizations that offer legal advocacy services to battered women.

This report discusses the results of a study designed to evaluate the Alternative Measures (AM) program in terms of: (1) its impact on recidivism; (2) the relationship between compliance and an Alternative Measures intervention; and (3) the appropriateness of an Alternative Measures intervention as a criminal sanction. The study utilizes both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies and draws much of its data from police, Crown counsel and corrections' records. Through the use of both interview and survey data, the study also considers the perspectives of offenders, victims, and criminal justice officials. The study is grounded in a mainstream theoretical perspective; it does not discuss the appropriateness of alternative measures for offences such as wife assault, nor does it offer a critical or feminist analysis of the results. The results of the study have critical policy implications for sentencing options in wife assault cases, and would be of interest to criminal justice professionals (Crown counsel, judges, and corrections personnel), researchers, and women's organizations.

As indicated in the title, this study is a 10-year follow-up of an experiment designed to assess the utility and validity of the confluence model of sexual aggression for predicting male aggression (both sexual and non-sexual) towards females. According to the authors, the confluence model hypothesizes that sexual aggressors may be characterized by a convergence of factors that can be organized into two clusters the hostile masculinity path and the promiscuous impersonal sex path. The study, conducted in two parts, uses both cross-sectional and longitudinal data analyses to assess and further develop the usefulness of this model in predicting conflicts with women (a construct which includes relationship distress as well as both sexual and non-sexual aggression against women). A risk analysis was also conducted to examine the model's utility for clinical prediction of sexual and non-sexual aggression towards females. The study is conducted from a clinical perspective and does not offer a feminist analysis of male sexual aggression, except to comment in passing that the most prominent risk factors identified in the literature relate to power and sex vis-a-vis women (1995:366). The study also neglects to consider the wider social implications of antisocial and aggressive behaviours by men toward women.

The results of this study have clinical and criminal justice implications both for assessing current, and future, male aggression towards women, and designing treatment programs for assaultive men that incorporate a consideration of the power dynamics underlying male abuse of female partners. The study will be of interest to criminal justice professionals, researchers and counsellors (female and male) who work with assaultive men.

McKnight, Carole. "Violence Against Women in Relationships: Implications for Corrections Personnel" Vancouver, BC: Corrections Branch Ministry of Attorney General and Ministry of Women's Equality, Province of British Columbia, 1993.

In 1993, the Violence Against Women in Relationships policy (VAWIR) was implemented. The main implication of this policy lies in the manner by which the offender is supervised. Current practice in offender supervision calls for minimal intervention while VAWIR policy calls for more intervention. This document discusses the discrepancy between the two and lays out the tasks related to the supervision of offenders and contact with victims. This is believed to be more efficient for all parties involved.

The VAWIR policy states that "in dealing with families where violence occurs or is threatened, the primary concern of the family court counsellor is to assist the woman to provide for her own safety and that of her children" (1993:15). When dealing with a situation of family violence this policy seems to provide the most logical course of action. Serious matters such as these cannot and should not come into conflict with other policies. This document presents a well laid out manner by which to overcome the discrepancies between current practices and the VAWIR policy.

This research paper discusses the results, and implications, of a study which examined the sentencing of sexual assaults, over an 18 month period, in the Yukon. In addition to documenting the types of offences and sentences imposed, the study critically analyzes judicial comments in sexual assault cases. The data comprised the daily dockets for the Yukon Territorial and Supreme Courts which were then reviewed to identify all of the sexual offences that were sentenced in an 18 month period, commencing January, 1988. Written transcripts of all the sentencing judgements for these cases were also obtained. The critical analysis of the judicial comments is guided by a feminist conceptual framework, and considers the proceedings from the victim's perspective. The analysis also evaluates both the extent of judicial understanding of the psychology of sexual offending, and the judiciary's appreciation of sexual assault victims' future safety and well-being.

In light of the fact that several of the judges who sentenced these particular cases preside over courtrooms in British Columbia, the research findings clearly have implications for how sexual assaults are sentenced in British Columbia. The results have definite policy implications for the judiciary in terms of the need for on-going education, vis-à-vis recognizing and examining the attitudes and biases which shape sentencing dispositions; increasing the judiciary's understanding of the psychology of sexual offending; and increasing sensitivity to the victim's needs and future safety. This study will be of interest to researchers, legal professionals, policy makers, and women's organizations that are working to end sexual violence against women.

The focus of this study is on a comparison of two treatment programs for abusive men -the existent Anger Management Program and the new Confronting Abusive Beliefs program. The Confronting Abusive Beliefs program differs from existing programs of the same nature in that it, "emphasizes the interpersonal consequences of abuse on female partners (and hence on the relationship), and on attempting to move men toward respectful relationship beliefs" (pg. 14). The study reports that the Confronting Abusive Beliefs program has been as effective as the Anger Management program and that there were no significant differences reported between the two programs.

Although this program does prove to be as successful as the Anger Management program, it does not offer any other benefits beyond what is attained from current programs. One flaw in the methodology of this study is that the participants were acquired on a volunteer basis, a factor which could influence the results of this study. It is, however, a program worthy of further research, as "it appears that belief change could provide an effective abuse prevention strategy" (p. 44).

This report introduces a new treatment program for men who abuse their spouses. The Confronting Abusive Beliefs program is based on the assumption that abusive actions are a reflection of socially constructed beliefs that a person has about relationships and abuse. This program maintains that if men can come to terms with their beliefs and see the error in their thoughts and actions, then these thoughts and actions can be replaced with more respectful ones. Although the program introduces another step towards developing more useful men's treatment programs, more research is needed to determine its effectiveness.

This document arose out of a need to adapt a set of guiding principles for community-based assaultive men's programs to an institutional environment. The process of writing this report involved a review of the existing community-based guidelines, consultations with a steering committee, and solicitations for input from relevant community-based service organizations (e.g., Battered Women's Support Services). Although the document is not specifically grounded in a feminist theoretical perspective, the author does indicate that the guiding principles should adopt a pro-feminist philosophy, particularly in developing community coordination between men's programs and battered women's services.

The report is intended to provide a set of guidelines, rather than legislated regulations, for designing and running assaultive men's programs in correctional centres. Specifically, the principles are meant to serve as "... a cornerstone for ensuring consistency in service delivery and philosophy and [as] a measure for program evaluation" (1995:1). Whether or not these guidelines are legislated, they do have policy implications for the monitoring/evaluation of institution-based assaultive men's programs, and for establishing protocols for appropriate community coordination with women's services. This report would be of interest to a varied audience, including: funders, researchers, agencies that administer assaultive men's programs, counsellors working in correctional facilities, and organizations that provide services to battered women.

The conclusions reached in this report could have far-reaching policy implications for the design, delivery, and subsequent evaluation of assaultive men's programs in correctional institutions within British Columbia. This document would be of interest to researchers, corrections staff, policy makers, and community agencies that provide services either to wife batterers or victims of wife assault.