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Invitations to Collusion: A Case for Greater Scrutiny of Men's Behaviour Change Programs
Author(s) -
Costello Susie
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of family therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.297
H-Index - 19
eISSN - 1467-8438
pISSN - 0814-723X
DOI - 10.1002/j.1467-8438.2006.tb00691.x
Subject(s) - collusion , scrutiny , project commissioning , publishing , criminal justice , criminology , focus group , public relations , political science , economic justice , sociology , psychology , business , law , industrial organization , anthropology
Men's behaviour change groups have been operating in Victoria since the early 1980s. Unlike their criminal justice‐based counterparts in the USA, Canada and the UK, groups in Victoria arose as stand alone voluntary programs within the community health and family support sectors. Their focus on therapeutic engagement, education and invitations to responsibility has at times failed to include consequences for men who continue to use violence and abuse while attending the group. This article argues that unless facilitators build in consequences for men whose violence continues, they can inadvertently collude with the violent behaviour. Including women partners in ongoing evaluation is one means of reducing this collusion. This view is drawn from research into behaviour change groups in Melbourne over the last decade.