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The
Duluth Wheel domestic-violence re-education programme
a revised methodology for generic use There
is never an excuse for any act of violence, by anyone to anyone: yet violence
exists. There is never an excuse
for crime of any kind: yet crime exists. Both remain issues that must be
resolved, at both a personal and a
societal level.
Strictly
speaking, violence – or any criminal behaviour – is a choice. In practice,
however, it is generally not so
much a choice as habitual learned behaviour – in other words a non-choice or
evasion of choice. If violence is
learned behaviour, it can therefore be unlearned, and alternative, more
constructive, behaviours learnt in
its place. This philosophy forms the background to all non-punitive approaches
to the problem of violence.
The
Duluth Wheel
The
Duluth Wheel map of violent and non-violent behaviour is one well-known example
of such a methodology. It was
devised by the Duluth Domestic Abuse Intervention Project, Duluth, Minnesota, USA,
as the core of a ‘perpetrator’ programme to help men convicted of domestic
assault to modify their behaviour
away from violence and towards mutual co-operation with others. The programme is
intended to be facilitated by a
group of peers who use the Wheel’s ‘map’ to help participants identify
their own violent behaviours, who
consistently remind participants of their responsibility for reducing violence,
and who model alternative
behaviours and alternative solutions to conflict.
The
‘map’ divides violence and abuse into eight categories: coercion and
threats; intimidation; economic abuse;
gender-privilege; isolation; using children; minimising, denying and blaming.
The respective target behaviour for
each category is: negotiation and fairness; non-threatening behaviour; economic
partnership; respect; shared
responsibility; trust and support; responsible parenting; honesty and
accountability.
Need
for revision The programme has been somewhat more successful than previous punishment-centred approaches, but its methodology suffers from a number of serious flaws which inherently limit its validity and usefulness. In particular, it is unusable for resolving anything other than explicit male-on-female domestic violence - a relatively small proportion of the whole - and even for this its rigidly gendered approach is rarely constructive in practice. These structural problems in the Duluth methodology are addressed in a critique and revision section here. Guidelines and procedures for practical work based on the revised model are also presented, together with a detailed commentary on each section of the revised model, and a discussion on common perceptions of the problem of violence and abuse. Tom Graves is a writer and researcher on skills-education, particularly the development of judgement and awareness in
intuitive skills. http://www.ozemail.com.au/~prussia/violence/partner/duluth/ -------------------------------------- Violence resolution:
revised procedure for Duluth-based programmes Gender-neutral version of revised
Duluth model Combined (both-gender) version of revised Duluth model
http://www.wyrdsmiths.com/index.php?fid=duluth Send mail to webmaster at
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