Victims of abuse are not the only people who need help and abusers also need help to stop their abusive behaviour. Research indicates that abusing behaviour can be changed. Most perpetrator programmes work with men and are designed to help men take responsibility for their behaviour and develop respectful, non-abusive relationships. This help can be accessed by the abuser through Respect, the UK association for domestic abuse perpetrator programmes and associated support services.

Respect’s key focus is on increasing the safety of those experiencing domestic abuse through promoting effective interventions with abusers. More information can be found at www.respect.uk.net and Respect contact details are in the Directory on this site.

Research shows that anger management therapy is unhelpful for perpetrators of domestic abuse. While teaching abusers to control their anger, there is a danger that they can become more controlling in other areas and over the victim. Power and control are the very core elements of domestic abuse. Counselling has equally been found to be ineffective in changing abusive behaviour, as it invokes the perpetrators sympathy with themselves rather than challenging their behaviour or creating empathy with the victim.