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Research

Our research

Violence against women and children affects everybody. It impacts on the health, wellbeing and safety of a significant proportion of Australians throughout all states and territories and places an enormous burden on the nation’s economy across family and community services, health and hospitals, income-support and criminal justice systems.

KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER

News and events

ANROWS hosts events as part of its knowledge transfer and exchange work, including public lectures, workshops and research launches. Details of upcoming ANROWS activities and news are available from the list on the right.

ANROWS

About ANROWS

ANROWS was established by the Commonwealth and all state and territory governments of Australia to produce, disseminate and assist in applying evidence for policy and practice addressing violence against women and children.

KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER

Resources

To support the take-up of evidence, ANROWS offers a range of resources developed from research to support practitioners and policy-makers in delivering evidence-based interventions.


PEOPLE WHO USE VIOLENCE (NPRF 24.03)

The role and impact of Men’s Behaviour Change Programs in IPV desistance pathways

Project length
2.5 years

Little research has explored the factors which support men who perpetrate intimate partner violence (IPV) to stop or significantly reduce their abusive behaviours (sometimes referred to as "desistance").


This is despite consistent international evidence that some men do stop or reduce their use of violent behaviours. We need more evidence on what causes men to stop or reduce their use of IPV.

This includes the role of mainstream responses to IPV, like men’s behaviour change programs (MBCP), which may have varying roles in pathways out of perpetration.

Research aims


The research project aims to investigate the role of men’s behaviour change programs (MBCPs) in facilitating pathways out of perpetration, identify factors that support or hinder these pathways, and explore how these dynamics vary across a diversity of backgrounds and over time.

Methods

This project follows a mixed methods research design, involving the analysis of qualitative and quantitative data. This includes:

  • Interviews with men who have recently participated in a MBCP, conducted at entry and 6-12 months post-exit and, where possible, interviews with their current/former partners.
  • Interviews with victim-survivors of IPV whose partners participated in a MBCP in the past five years and experienced desistance in the abuse perpetrated against them.
  • A workshop with MBCP practitioners across Australia, to inform the development of practice guidelines for embedding desistance evidence within program delivery and design.

Significance

Evidence is crucial for informing federal and state policies aimed at ending gender-based violence, with a particular need for findings on what leads to and prevents people from using DFSV. The federal government’s substantial funding for research in this area, via the 2024–2025 Budget, emphasises its policy importance.

This project will contribute to this knowledge base and support the strengthening of systems that better hold people who use violence to account. The project findings will also be directly relevant to anyone responsible for developing and implementing interventions targeted at men who use violence. This includes MBCP practitioners, educators and managers.


Researchers

Project lead

Dr Hayley Boxall, Research Fellow, Australian National University (ANU)

Research team

Dr Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Principal Consultant, Sequre Consulting

Professor Silke Meyer, Professor, Griffith University

Professor Lorana Bartels, Professor, ANU

Budget

 $285,550 (excluding GST)

This project is funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services.

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