Prevention Programme for Male Perpetrators
Arch conduct a two day awareness raising course that aims to encourage males to start to recognise & identify controlling tactics/behaviours and explore their own belief system.
To get men to change, this change needs to be seen to have some value.
Therefore, men need to weigh up the pros and cons or relative merits of changing or refusing to change.
In order to change a man must also see that change is possible and that it is something over which they do have a choice. It is ironic that so many abusive men who feel compelled to exert power and control over those around them often feel so little in control themselves. Instead they often perceive themselves as victims of others action, yet blaming the woman is merely a convenient way for a man to avoid responsibility for what he does.
Both historically and culturally men are socialised into believing that they are superior to women and consequently have rights over them. Until very recently responses to Domestic Violence had in fact colluded with this belief by viewing the violence as 'only a domestic' or a 'private matter', as if this justified it in some way.
The Prevention Programme aims to challenge this belief and demonstrates that abusive behaviour is unacceptable by placing the emphasis on the man to change his behaviour and ways of thinking.
The men's course aims to compliment the women's programme by challenging men to take responsibility for their violence and offering them an opportunity to change their violent and abusive behaviour.
