Duluth model

This article is about program in the United States. For other topics about domestic violence, see Outline of domestic violence.

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. The program was largely founded by social activist Ellen Pence. The Duluth Model is featured in the documentary Power and Control: Domestic Violence in America.^[2]

Origin and theory

The Domestic Abuse Intervention Project was the first multi-disciplinary program designed to address the issue of domestic violence. This experimental program, conducted in Duluth, Minnesota in 1981, coordinated the actions of a variety of agencies dealing with domestic conflict. The program has become a model for programs in other jurisdictions seeking to deal more effectively with domestic violence.^[3]

According to the Duluth Model, "women and children are vulnerable to violence because of their unequal social, economic, and political status in society".^[4]

The Duluth Model is based on a "violence is patriarchal" model. The model focuses soley on the men's use of violence in abusive relationships, rather than on the behavior of all parties concerned. This helps the men to focus on changing their personal behavior in order to be nonviolent in any relationship. The Duluth Model originated the Duluth Power and Control Wheel.^{[citation needed]}

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 do not complete any batterers intervention program.^[5]

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, found that of the 30 batterer intervention programs in Cook County, Illinois, 15 percent of batterers who completed the programs were rearrested for domestic violence, compared with 37 percent of those who dropped out of the programs.^[5] However, Bennett said the studies are largely meaningless because they lacked a proper control group.^[5] 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.^[5]

Criticism

According to critics, programs based on the Duluth Model may ignore research linking domestic violence to substance abuse and psychological problems, such as attachment disorders, traced to childhood abuse or neglect, or the absence of a history of adequate socialization and training.^[5][6] Some criticize the Duluth model as being overly confrontational rather than therapeutic, focusing solely on changing the abuser's actions and attitudes rather than dealing with underlying emotional and psychological issues.^[6] Donald Dutton, a psychology professor at the University of British Columbia who has studied abusive personalities, states: "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.^[5]

The exclusive focus on males as perpetrators and the rejection of system dynamics models has been criticized from perspectives influenced by psychology and family therapy. The fields of psychology, psychiatry, and social work all provide for application of skill learning, improved social understanding and practiced behavioral mastery to provide for corrected and alternative behaviors. By contrast, the Duluth Model presents only "once an abuser, always an abuser" constructions to this important social problem.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Relationship counseling
• Relationship education
• Domestic violence
• Violence Against Women Act

References

1. ^ University of Minnesota Duluth conceptual framework
2. ^ "Power and Control Film". Power and Control: Domestic Violence in America. http://www.powerandcontrolfilm.com/. Retrieved 31 March 2011. 
3. ^ Domestic Abuse Intervention Project: History
4. ^ "The Duluth Model". Minnesota Program Development, Inc.. Archived from the original on 2008-08-28. http://replay.waybackmachine.org/20080828063405/http://duluth-model.org/home.html. 
5. ^ ^{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. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Fisher, Andy, Rick Goodwin and Mark Patton. 2009. “Men & Healing: Theory, Research, and Practice in Working with Male Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse.” 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: 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