Citation

Gelles RJ. J. Aggression Maltreat. Trauma 2002; 5(2): 11-20.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2002, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1300/J146v05n02_02

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Programs for men who batter their intimate partners were developed in the late 1970s. Since that time, mandatory and presumptive arrest policies have increased the number of men arrested for domestic violence. Diversion into programs for batterers evolved into a standard part of a coordinated community intervention for domestic violence. Recently, a number of states have begun to establish standards for batterers' programs. While having standards makes sense, especially as it could assure quality of programs, this article argues that it is premature to establish such standards. The article reviews evaluation data on programs for men who batter and concludes that we know too little about what types or features of programs are effective for which men under what circumstances. Establishing rigorous standards may actually produce more harm than good.