Start today again - Working with violent fathers

Family violence persists as a ‘wicked’ problem that continues to seriously impact the mental and physical health of victims despite a significant increase in attention and intervention. For children, growing up in a violent household is associated with a myriad of negative neurological, behavioural and emotional outcomes including future perpetration and victimisation. These impacts are not well understood at the community level, particularly among men. What is recognised however is the breakdown of the relationship between the father who uses violence and his children and the desire to repair this relationship is often stated as a motivation for behaviour change. This paper provides an overview of an innovative approach to perpetrator education and support developed in Tasmania through a partnership between the University Schools of Health Sciences and Social Sciences and The Salvation Army. The research team, comprising academics and practitioners in mental health, social policy, family violence, primary health and prison support, have developed a program which comprises a flexible suite of presentations, resources and a manualised education package that builds on an analysis of challenges faced by existing perpetrator and men’s behaviour change programs. Incorporating a trauma-informed and strengths-based approach Start Today Again focuses on improving relationships between fathers and children to ignite and sustain the catalyst for behaviour change. Previous research by the authors recommended that educational tools for men should be multi-faceted, diverse, flexible, and evidence-based and be able to be delivered in multiple contexts. Start Today Again is a program that value-adds innovations in treatment and adult learning to the research base on family violence and can be used to complement behaviour change work with fathers who have used violence, as well as educating sector workers and the broader community about the impact of family violence on children.