If we are ever to end violence against women, we need to put more focus and resources towards treating batterers, as Katie Balestra points out in the Washington Post,
“Amid the launch of the federal Responsible Fatherhood and Healthy Marriage initiatives two years ago, social service agencies and industry experts have begun to recognize the importance not just of helping victims of domestic violence but also of treating the batterers themselves in programs such as the House of Ruth’s Gateway Project.
“No matter how many women you take in, it isn’t going to cure the problem,” said Toby Myers, vice chair of the National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence, a nonprofit based in Austin. In May, Andrew Klein, editor of the National Bulletin on Domestic Violence Prevention, wrote that abuser intervention programs “serve a critical need” in making sure that batterers comply with their sentencing and don’t repeat their abuse.”
“In 2005, the latest year for which figures are available, the Justice Department gave abuser programs only a fraction of the $113.9 million that was doled out for domestic violence prevention through its largest grant program, Stop Violence Against Women. About 35 percent went to victim services, about half to law enforcement and prosecution services and just $5.4 million, or about 5 percent, to courts for programs including abuser intervention.”
While in no way should already inadequate funds be siphoned from services to victims, clearly you can’t cure the problem by only treating the result, you have to address the cause, and 5.4 million dollars is clearly a drop in the bucket on that front.
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