Duluth model

The Duluth Model or Domestic Abuse Intervention Project is a program developed to reduce domestic violence.[1] The Duluth model was developed by Minnesota Program Development, Inc., a nonprofit agency in Duluth, Minnesota.
Origin and Theory

In 1981, the Domestic Abuse Intervention Project was the first multi-disciplinary program designed to address the issue of domestic violence. This experiment, conducted in Duluth, involved coordinating the actions of a variety of agencies that deal with domestic situations. The program has become a model for other jurisdictions seeking to deal more effectively with domestic violence.

According to the Duluth Model, "women and children, and some men are vulnerable to violence because of their unequal social, economic, and political status in society."

The Duluth Model is based on a strict "patriarchal violence" model and presumes that all violence in the home and elsewhere has a male perpetrator and female victim. The model explicitly rejects any concept of mutuality or symmetry in abusive relationships. The Duluth Model originated the Duluth Power and Control Wheel.

Effectiveness

A nationwide study published in 2002 sponsored by the federal government found that batterers who complete programs based on the "Duluth Model," are less likely to repeat acts of domestic violence than those who don't.[2] A 2005 study led by Larry Bennett, a professor of social work at the University of Illinois at Chicago and an expert on batterer intervention programs, of the 30 batterer intervention programs in Cook County, Illinois, found 15 percent of those who completed the program were rearrested for domestic violence, compared with 37 percent of those who dropped out of the program.[2] However, Bennett said the studies are largely meaningless because they lacked a proper control group.[2] He added that participants who complete domestic violence programs are likely to be more motivated than others to improve behavior and would be less inclined to offend again.[2]



Criticism

Critics say the problem with programs based on the Duluth Model is that they ignore research linking domestic violence to substance abuse and psychological problems, such as attachment disorders, traced to childhood abuse or neglect.[2]

Donald Dutton, a psychology professor at the University of British Columbia who has studied abusive personalities, states that "The Duluth Model was developed by people who didn't understand anything about therapy." He also insists that gender doesn't play a role in domestic violence.[2]

The exclusive focus on men as perpetrators and the rejection of system dynamics models has been criticized by people with perspectives influenced by psychology, education and remedial therapy. The fields of psychology, psychiatry, and social work all provide for application of skill learning, improved social understanding and practiced behavioral mastery to help establish alternative behaviors. By contrast, the Duluth Model presents only "once an abuser, always an abuser" constructions to the social problem of domestic violence.

Additionally, critics[3] argue that the Duluth model employs circular logic:

To say that abusive men are controlling because they want to be in control explains very little. It tells us nothing about the origins or nature of this desire to control, the conditions under which abuse occurs, or other purposes that violent behaviour might be serving for the assaultive man.

[edit] See also

relationship counseling

Domestic violence

Violence Against Women Act

References

University of Minnesota Duluth conceptual framework

^ a b c d e f Twohey, Megan (2009-01-02). "How Can Domestic Violence Be Stopped?". Chicago Tribune. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-abusers-02-jan02,0,1147422.story?page=2. Retrieved 2009-01-28.

^ Fisher, Andy, Rick Goodwin and Mark Patton. 2009. “Men & Healing: Theory, Research, and Practice in Working with Male Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse.”[http://www.malesurvivor.on.ca/files/uploads/.../menandhealingfinal.pdf] The Men's Project, Funded by the Cornwall Public Inquiry

External links

Minnesota Program Development, Inc.

Muslim Wheel of Domestic Violence a variation of the Duluth Power and Control Wheel

Power and Control Wheel for Lawyers and Clients a variation of the Duluth Model Power and Control Wheel

"Power and Control: Domestic Violence in America"a documentary film and web site focusing on the Duluth Model. Founders Ellen Pence and Michael Paymar are interviewed in the film, with excerpts and transcripts on the web

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