Batterer Intervention Systems: Issues, Outcomes, and Recommendations

"Batterer Intervention Systems is a very important book--probably the most important one on batter interventions and evaluations to date.... The writing style is very strong, conversational, and kept my interest. It presents complex information in a non-technical way. The book should be very accessible to a wide audience." —JEFFREY L. EDLESON, Professor of Social Work, University of Minnesota, and Director, Minnesota Center Against Violence & Abuse (MINCAVA) One of the most burning debates in the domestic violence field is over the effectiveness of batterer programs and how to improve them. Batterer Intervention Systems responds to this debate with research from a multi-site evaluation of batterer programs—the most comprehensive and extensive evaluation to date. It critiques current experimental evaluations, exposes the complex issues of evaluation, and presents alternatives to assessing effectiveness. A four-year follow-up of program participants reveals a surprising de-escalation of abuse, a subgroup of unresponsive repeat reassaulters, and the difficulty in identifying the most dangerous men. Conventional batterer counseling appears to be appropriate for the vast majority of men. Most of all, the book shows that the "system" matters and can be improved through some straightforward adjustments.