Massachusetts News
By Jarrett Conner

December 1--Batterers Intervention programs, such as Common Purpose, were started in the 1970’s and are based on a feminist model. They claim that our society places value on male control and power and that this power structure makes them batterers. They say this despite the fact that the Department of Justice reports that similar numbers of men and women admit to violence toward their spouse.

Proponents of the feminist theory contend that batterers are usually not violent in other relationships in their lives, but they are violent with a woman with whom they are expected to share power – their wife. 

In order to stop the domestic violence, the men must be re-educated away from their current understanding of men, women and power. Further, since this patriarchal understanding is ingrained into the minds of men, then any man is guilty and could confess to being a part of the patriarchy. The program’s insistence on confession, even from the non-violent, comes directly from the theories upon which the program is built.

The feminist model employed by Common Purpose is "The Duluth Curriculum," which has not been shown to be an effective curriculum for making violent men less violent. Nor has it been shown to be an accurate portrait of why men abuse women. More and more information suggests that a portion of men who are batterers are violent in their other relationships, not simply with women, suggesting that the feminist model may not address the reason that some men commit domestic violence.

In the domestic violence industry, there are a number of competing theories about the roots of violence. Some suggest that the violence is a function of family dysfunction; others suggest that the violence stems from the batterer’s psychological problems. Currently it is the feminist model that dominates which may explain why any man, regardless of his history, may be considered violent and asked to confess.

In the feminist model, the violence of men towards women is a part of our culture and hence men need to be re-educated. The confession is relevant for any man, because in the feminist view, all men are a part of the system of hierarchical relationships between men in women, the very existence of which constitutes abuse towards women.
 

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