A Life without Violence? Experience of Treatment for Perpetrators of Violence in Intimate Partner Relationships in a Small Nordic Welfare Society

Abstract

In this study, the experiences of perpetrators of violence in intimate relationships in Iceland that took part in this program; "Peace at home" were explored. Also the experiences of survivors were examined, who had a spouse that took part in that treatment program. A qualitative method was used, interviews were taken with six perpetrators and six survivors. All of the participants were white Icelandic people, none of them had a different ethnic background. The interviews were transcribed and analysed. As a result of their participation in the treatment program, all the perpetrators experienced improvement in quality of life, in their relationships with their spouses and in their general well-being. The survivors experienced the time their spouse was in therapy as positive overall and that it made a difference in their own lives. In all cases the physical violence stopped. However, the emotional abuse did not cease in all cases or increased again. Thus, it seems that perpetrators might need more prolonged treatment or different emphasis in treatment, in order to work on patriarchal mentality and stress-provoking situations.Keywords perpetrators and victims, intimate partner violence, family violence, emotional violence, physical violence, batterer programs, semi-structured interviews, thematic analysis