Letter to the Editor

Abstract

Letter to the Editor Unfortunately, the Straus article is an example of actually going backward in its approach to domestic violence. It draws on very poor quality research by people with little connection to the broader field. The author, and critics like him, assumes that batterer intervention programs are a curriculum and format without ever understanding the notion of a coordinated interagency response, or a web of accountability, that includes battered women's safety as a primary consideration. It is actually about a wider interagency approach that puts the whole system to work together in an accountable way. Intervention also considers how the court systems stand behind the programs to ensure the programs are able to do their best work. Those two points are key to what the Duluth model is about-safety for victims and changing the climate of tolerance for violence, not just providing programs. To me, the Straus "reanalysis" is typical of how almost meaningless measurement gets narrowed down and distorted in a way that bears little reality for battered women or system change. It is very disappointing. So much of the research and accompanying claims really show a lack of knowledge of the field. There is a foundation of experience that comes from working alongside advocates, running classes with men, and seeing how systems work from the inside. This foundation is totally overlooked in Straus's response.