1. Alcohol and domestic violence perpetrators: safe(r) working practices

2.  Stella Project is a partnership initiative between the GLDVP and GLADA launched in Dec 2002  As the leading agency addressing drug and alcohol related domestic violence and abuse, the Stella Project works for positive, sustained improvement in the way services are delivered to survivors, their children and perpetrators of domestic violence affected by problematic substance use  Provide support, advice, training, consultancy, toolkits and good practice guidelines and networking opportunities to drug, alcohol and domestic violence agencies

4. Setting the scene  Home Office research on domestic violence offenders (n = 336) showed 73% had used alcohol prior to the offence, with 48% seen as ‘alcohol dependent’ (Gilchrist 2003). 19% of sample showed history of drug misuse  Research based on small scale studies in London and Nottinghamshire found that 63% of men attending dv perpetrators programmes reported that they had substance misuse problems (Humphreys et al 2005)  BCS (1995-2005) - between 30-53% of dv offenders were under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident. 10-17% for drugs  A number of US studies have shown that between 44-58% of men in drug or alcohol treatment reported using physical violence towards a partner in the year prior to treatment

5. Setting the scene  A number of studies have found that the man’s use of alcohol, particularly heavy drinking, was likely to result in more serious injury to their partners than if they had been sober.  A small scale study in the UK showed that the majority of women interviewed about the role of alcohol in their partner’s abuse had also experienced violence when their partner had not been drinking (Galvani 2005)

6.  The majority of women reported that the level of aggression of their partner depended on a number of variables in addition to the alcohol e.g. pre-drinking mood, aggression and worries; environmental factors; personality specific factors; and individual goals of drinking. Responsible disinhibition Reflects women’s views that men are violent to women after drinking through a combination of alcohol’s effects, individual or contextual factors and personal choice (Galvani 2003)

7. Model of Responsible Disinhibition (Galvani, 2004) Man Choice Violence and abuse No violence or abuse Alcohol Disinhibiting effects of alcohol Pre-/during/post- drinking factors

8. “It’s only when I drink!”  Disinhibition theory is not a sufficient explanation – alcohol alone does not cause domestic violence  Research suggests that the most significant determinant of behaviour after drinking is not the physiological effect of the alcohol itself, but the expectation that individuals place on the drinking experience

9. “I wasn’t myself!”  Alcohol expectancy: if someone is motivated to feel more powerful, aggressive, funny and expects a substance to perform this transformation, usually the substance complies  Abusers may believe that alcohol disinhibits them, making them violent, however ‘the expectation of an alcohol – aggression effect may better predict aggressive behaviour than alcohol itself’ Bennet et al 2003  Deviancy disavowal – creating a period of time – out while drinking that permits an individual to engage in deviant behaviour without being viewed as a deviant “Conflict is not a universal result of alcohol’s effects on cognition which suggests its disinhibiting properties are insufficient as an explanation for conflict” (Galvani 2004 )

10. Myth: Abusers lose control when drunk  Reality: The Stella Project does not support the view that abusers lose control when perpetrating abuse – whether this involves substances or not.  Women report that even when their partners have seemed “uncontrollably drunk” during a physical assault they routinely exhibit the ability to stop the abuse when there is an outside intervention e.g. children, police.  Abusers exhibit control over which area of the bodies they direct their assault even when drunk. The majority of abusers only target their abuse and violence at one person – their partner.[i] [i]  [i] Shepard, M. & Pence, E., (eds.) 1999. Coordinating Community Responses to Domestic Violence: Lessons from Duluth and Beyond, Thousand Oaks: Sage [i]

11. Myth: Alcohol treatment alone will address the abuse adequately  Reality: Even if treatment is able to reduce the severity of the violence it does not address the complex dynamics and power and control which underpin domestic violence. Therefore, work which specifically addresses such dynamics should always accompany a treatment plan.

12. Working in a drug/alcohol setting  Recognise the interventions that can be made by drug/alcohol workers  Asking the question  Safe responses which don’t collude with the abuse  Using keyworking sessions to explore beliefs about the role of drugs and alcohol in the use of violence and abuse, impact on him, partner, children  Ensuring child protection policy addresses dv  Ensuring organisation has a policy which ensures safety of partner if couple are attending the same service  Ensuring anger management, couples counselling and family therapies are not offered where domestic violence is taking place - unsafe and inappropriate  Aware of the dangers of home detox in situations where there is domestic violence

13. Risk management  Review information sharing procedures  Multi-agency risk assessment conferences (MARACs) – is your agency represented?  Link to IDVAs, ISVAs/SARCs and other domestic violence agencies  Be aware of the links between abuse of the mother and child abuse. Witnessing dv is now classed as ‘significant harm’  The responsibility for managing risks to clients or posed by clients should not remain solely with treatment agencies

14. Make links with VPPs (Perpetrator Programmes)  Respect Accreditation Project available to download at www.respect.uk.net www.respect.uk.net  Standards – B4.4 routine enquiry for substance misuse of all clients & F1.6 effective referral pathways to substance misuse agencies, other standards refer to drug/alcohol use in relation to risk assessment and safety planning etc  Gondolf’s multisite evaluation (2002) – a man’s drunkeness after programme intake made him 3 ½ times more likely to re-assault partner  Engagement with sm services lowered this risk  Importance of monitoring substance use or compliance with drug/alcohol treatment during the programme

15. Working in a drug/alcohol setting (cont)  Resources for drug/alcohol workers Respect phoneline 0845 122 8609  Stella Project Guidance for working with perpetrators in a drug/alcohol treatment setting – available online www.gldvp.org.uk www.gldvp.org.uk  Stella Project Strategy and Policy bank  Stella Project training

16. www.gldvp.org.uk Karen.Bailey@gldvp.org.uk 0207 785 3862 The Stella Project is a partnership between the Greater London Domestic Violence Project (GLDVP) and the Greater London Drug and Alcohol Alliance (GLADA)