Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Impact on callers to a men's domestic violence helpline

Impact on callers to a men's domestic violence helpline Social Marketing Research Unit and Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer Control, Curtin University of Technology, Western Australia Leonie Gibbons Disabilities Service Commission, Western Australia, formerly Family and Domestic Violence Unit, Government of Western Australia Mark Francas, Rhonda Zappelli TNS Social Research, Western Australia. Violence against women by their male partners is an important public health problem in both developed and developing countries.1-3 There are major consequences for the physical and mental health of the women and for children and other family members.4-6 The Western Australian Freedom From Fear campaign7,8 aims to reduce women’s (and children’s) fear by encouraging perpetrators and potential perpetrators to voluntarily attend counselling programs. The Men’s Domestic Violence Help Line (MDVHL) forms a key component of the Freedom From Fear campaign. The primary aim of the helpline counsellors is to refer qualified callers into government-funded counselling programs provided by private-sector organisations in various locations throughout the State. Although results vary, counselling programs have been found to be effective in reducing violence.9-11 While the Freedom From Fear campaign has been successful in attracting violent and potentially violent men to call the MDVHL and accept a referral into counselling,7 little is known about the impact of the telephone contact per se. This is an important issue as many men who call the MDVHL do not accept a referral, and many who do accept a referral do not present for the counselling.12 We obtained interviews with 49 men who had called the MDVHL. Of these, 38 had attended an individual or group counselling session since their telephone contact; 11 had not. Because of ethical and professional issues, the interviewing had to be conducted by the counsellors; hence, the potential for demand factors to influence respondents’ answers. The men were first asked an open-ended question: “Have there been any changes yet in your thinking or behaviour as a result of attending these counselling sessions (n=38) or calling the Helpline (n=11)?” All but one of the 38 men who had attended counselling claimed that there had been changes in their thinking or behaviour as a result of their counselling. The most frequently reported changes (see Table 1) related to: better communication with their partner; greater understanding of their own behaviour and the effect on their partner; experiencing less anger or being more able to control their anger; and using various strategies taught in the counselling. The fact that these comments were in response to an open-ended question and that men gave on average two responses suggests that these responses were subject to minimal demand effects. All but one of the 11 men who had not yet attended counselling claimed there had been changes in their thinking or behaviour as a result of the helpline call. Again, the responses indicated a number of positive changes consistent with counselling content: more control of anger (n=4); experiencing less anger (n=2); trying various strategies (n=2); and one each of: better communication/more talking; trying to understand partner’s situation; thinking more before acting; attempted reconciliation with daughter; intention to go to counselling; more resolved in self and less fearful of future. The men then were presented with several behaviours and asked whether there had been any increases or decreases in these behaviours since they called the helpline. More than 85% of men reported being more in control of their anger, yelling less, more able to talk to their partner, and more able to understand the effect of their behaviour on their partner. Substantially fewer reported being less physically abusive (69%). Although prompted questions are particularly subject to demand characteristics, the interpretation of these findings is supported by the open-ended data and by the substantially lesser proportion reporting being less physically abusive relative to the other behaviours. A reduction in physical abuse would arguably be the area most subject to a socially desirable response effect. Further, 41 of the 49 men reported that their life was better after calling the helpline and spontaneously nominated a variety of improvements. These results of the impact of calling the Men’s Domestic Table 1: “Have there been any changes yet in your thinking or behaviour as a result of attending these counselling sessions?”. Base: Respondents who had attended counselling Better communication/listen more/ more open Using various strategies (e.g. time out) More control of behaviour More aware of effect on partner/ consequences Thinks before acting More calm/relaxed More respect (for partner) Better understanding of problem/ view differently More confident/resolved in self More aware of what says and does Less anger/rage Less abusive/threatening Trying to think positively More aware of domestic violence issues in general Total % (n=38) Note: (a) Adds to more than 100% because multiple responses permitted. AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH 2006 vol. 30 no. 4 Letters Violence Helpline, although based on a small number of respondents, are nevertheless important given the paucity of research in this area. It is argued that even allowing for some demand effects, the overall results strongly support at least the short-term efficacy of telephone counselling per se, the use of a helpline to direct men into individual counselling sessions, and the positive impact of those sessions. Within the methodological limitations of this study, our overall conclusion is that calling a men’s domestic violence helpline has a positive impact on the lives of violent men and the lives of their families, even where the contact is limited to the telephone counselling. Only one man indicated that his life had worsened after calling the helpline and he did not attribute this to the helpline. More importantly, although we have no partner data to confirm the findings, there was no indication that any man’s abuse of his partner had increased or that their relationship with their partner had worsened as a result of the call to the helpline. Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to the Men’s Domestic Violence Helpline counsellors for their assistance in gathering the data. Any views expressed in this paper are the personal views of the authors; they are not intended to express the views of the counsellors or the Freedom From Fear Campaign, or the Family and Domestic Violence Unit of the Government of Western Australia. The Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer Control is part-funded by the Cancer Council WA. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health Wiley

Impact on callers to a men's domestic violence helpline

Download PDF
2 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/wiley/impact-on-callers-to-a-men-s-domestic-violence-helpline-SrwEupDwX2

References (16)

Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
Copyright © 2006 Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company
ISSN
1326-0200
eISSN
1753-6405
DOI
10.1111/j.1467-842X.2006.tb00853.x
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Social Marketing Research Unit and Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer Control, Curtin University of Technology, Western Australia Leonie Gibbons Disabilities Service Commission, Western Australia, formerly Family and Domestic Violence Unit, Government of Western Australia Mark Francas, Rhonda Zappelli TNS Social Research, Western Australia. Violence against women by their male partners is an important public health problem in both developed and developing countries.1-3 There are major consequences for the physical and mental health of the women and for children and other family members.4-6 The Western Australian Freedom From Fear campaign7,8 aims to reduce women’s (and children’s) fear by encouraging perpetrators and potential perpetrators to voluntarily attend counselling programs. The Men’s Domestic Violence Help Line (MDVHL) forms a key component of the Freedom From Fear campaign. The primary aim of the helpline counsellors is to refer qualified callers into government-funded counselling programs provided by private-sector organisations in various locations throughout the State. Although results vary, counselling programs have been found to be effective in reducing violence.9-11 While the Freedom From Fear campaign has been successful in attracting violent and potentially violent men to call the MDVHL and accept a referral into counselling,7 little is known about the impact of the telephone contact per se. This is an important issue as many men who call the MDVHL do not accept a referral, and many who do accept a referral do not present for the counselling.12 We obtained interviews with 49 men who had called the MDVHL. Of these, 38 had attended an individual or group counselling session since their telephone contact; 11 had not. Because of ethical and professional issues, the interviewing had to be conducted by the counsellors; hence, the potential for demand factors to influence respondents’ answers. The men were first asked an open-ended question: “Have there been any changes yet in your thinking or behaviour as a result of attending these counselling sessions (n=38) or calling the Helpline (n=11)?” All but one of the 38 men who had attended counselling claimed that there had been changes in their thinking or behaviour as a result of their counselling. The most frequently reported changes (see Table 1) related to: better communication with their partner; greater understanding of their own behaviour and the effect on their partner; experiencing less anger or being more able to control their anger; and using various strategies taught in the counselling. The fact that these comments were in response to an open-ended question and that men gave on average two responses suggests that these responses were subject to minimal demand effects. All but one of the 11 men who had not yet attended counselling claimed there had been changes in their thinking or behaviour as a result of the helpline call. Again, the responses indicated a number of positive changes consistent with counselling content: more control of anger (n=4); experiencing less anger (n=2); trying various strategies (n=2); and one each of: better communication/more talking; trying to understand partner’s situation; thinking more before acting; attempted reconciliation with daughter; intention to go to counselling; more resolved in self and less fearful of future. The men then were presented with several behaviours and asked whether there had been any increases or decreases in these behaviours since they called the helpline. More than 85% of men reported being more in control of their anger, yelling less, more able to talk to their partner, and more able to understand the effect of their behaviour on their partner. Substantially fewer reported being less physically abusive (69%). Although prompted questions are particularly subject to demand characteristics, the interpretation of these findings is supported by the open-ended data and by the substantially lesser proportion reporting being less physically abusive relative to the other behaviours. A reduction in physical abuse would arguably be the area most subject to a socially desirable response effect. Further, 41 of the 49 men reported that their life was better after calling the helpline and spontaneously nominated a variety of improvements. These results of the impact of calling the Men’s Domestic Table 1: “Have there been any changes yet in your thinking or behaviour as a result of attending these counselling sessions?”. Base: Respondents who had attended counselling Better communication/listen more/ more open Using various strategies (e.g. time out) More control of behaviour More aware of effect on partner/ consequences Thinks before acting More calm/relaxed More respect (for partner) Better understanding of problem/ view differently More confident/resolved in self More aware of what says and does Less anger/rage Less abusive/threatening Trying to think positively More aware of domestic violence issues in general Total % (n=38) Note: (a) Adds to more than 100% because multiple responses permitted. AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH 2006 vol. 30 no. 4 Letters Violence Helpline, although based on a small number of respondents, are nevertheless important given the paucity of research in this area. It is argued that even allowing for some demand effects, the overall results strongly support at least the short-term efficacy of telephone counselling per se, the use of a helpline to direct men into individual counselling sessions, and the positive impact of those sessions. Within the methodological limitations of this study, our overall conclusion is that calling a men’s domestic violence helpline has a positive impact on the lives of violent men and the lives of their families, even where the contact is limited to the telephone counselling. Only one man indicated that his life had worsened after calling the helpline and he did not attribute this to the helpline. More importantly, although we have no partner data to confirm the findings, there was no indication that any man’s abuse of his partner had increased or that their relationship with their partner had worsened as a result of the call to the helpline. Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to the Men’s Domestic Violence Helpline counsellors for their assistance in gathering the data. Any views expressed in this paper are the personal views of the authors; they are not intended to express the views of the counsellors or the Freedom From Fear Campaign, or the Family and Domestic Violence Unit of the Government of Western Australia. The Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer Control is part-funded by the Cancer Council WA.

Journal

Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health – Wiley

Published: Aug 1, 2006

There are no references for this article.