Respect multi site research into perpetrator programme outcomes
Overview of the project
Respect, the UK national organisation of domestic violence perpetrator programmes, has designed a four year research project to fill a critical gap, to find out how and to what extent programmes improve women’s and children’s safety and reduce men’s violence.
Respect is leading the project. The Respect Research Manager, appointed in June 2008, holds overall responsibility for the project.
The primary purpose of the research will be to examine the effects on women’s safety from the participation of their partners in well established programmes. Secondary purposes are outlined in the full project plan and summarised below.
An integral principle and practice running throughout the project and beyond is partnership, collaboration and consultation between researchers, practitioners and policy makers. Respect Research Manager will be responsible for organising and supporting activities to support this process.
Funding for the pilot year of this research project has been kindly provided by LankellyChase Foundation, Northern Rock Foundation and the Home Office.
The key research questions are:
- To what extent does men's participation in domestic violence perpetrator programmes affect the safety and welfare of women and children?
- How does men’s participation affect safety of women and children?
- What increases the effectiveness of programmes?
Update March 2010
For the last year the appointed research team has been working on the pilot year of the four year research project. They are: Professor Liz Kelly, Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit, London Metropolitan University; Dr Nicole Westmarland and Simon Hackett, Durham University; Professor Charlotte Watts and Dr Cathy Zimmerman, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
The research team has carried out many activities this year including:
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Building relationships with the five Respect member programmes who are currently taking part
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Identifying what is meant by "success" in programme participation, for men, women, staff and funders
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Testing out research tools
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Reviewing current research
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Devloping a full project plan and using this for fundraising
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Working with the Research Manager to secure funding for the full project
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Ensuring that the Respect case management and outcome database (REDAMOS) can provide relevant data for the research project
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Writing a briefing note, the first in a series to be published during the research project, which will be available on the Respect website in May 2010.
February 2009: minutes and report from the seminar in December 2008
Some of you attended the seminar on 9th December 2008 with Professor Edward Gondolf (also a member of the research advisory group), Susan Ash from LankellyChase Foundation (one of our key funders and a member of the advisory group) and Respect staff. This lively and interesting seminar focused on collaborative research processes and included presentations from Dr Gondolf, lots of questions and discussion and a good lunch at an excellent small venue in central London (44 Portland Place for those of you wanting similar).
This seminar set an excellent tone for the research process and there were some great ideas which we are now following up. A full record of the minutes of this seminar including a summary document of action agreed and lessons learned can be downloaded by clicking on the link below.
For further information
If you wish to discuss being one of the research sites, you can contact me for an informal discussion about what is involved. I work two days per week, usually on Thursday and Friday but you can often catch me by email at other times.
Respect Research Manager
Thangam Debbonaire: thangam.debbonaire@respect.uk.net