Domestic Violence Perpetrator Programmes & neurodiversity

A picture of a chair with a sign on it that says think outside the box

Making domestic abuse interventions more responsive to a neurodiverse population


Welcome

Welcome to the research project page for the study ‘Domestic violence perpetrator programmes: how do they respond to neurodiversity?’

Background and rationale

Domestic Violence Perpetrator Programmes (DVPPs) have been almost exclusively developed with a neurotypical perpetrator population in mind. My previous research on the criminal justice domestic violence perpetrator programme (DVPP) for England and Wales, Building Better Relationships, identified that autistic men and those with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) experienced adversities and barriers to engagement that were both similar and above those of neurotypical men. That project represents the first study internationally to obtain the views of neurodivergent men who perpetrate domestic abuse and to detail the challenges they faced. Given this was an unanticipated finding, practitioners were not asked specifically asked about working with neurodivergent men.

This project builds on these findings and is the first international study to explore the experiences and perspectives of domestic abuse practitioners who work with autistic and/or ADHD men who do not have learning disabilities. The reasons for studying this specific group of neurodivergent men are twofold. Firstly, autism and ADHD could be described as an invisible disability. The specific risks and needs of neurodivergent men who use violence may therefore be overlooked by systems and practices developed with neurotypical men in focus. Further, a recent review of neurodiversity in the criminal justice system in the UK found interventions for non-learning disabled neurodivergent people were scarce. Building on this work, this study focuses on obtaining practitioners’ perspectives and experiences of working with this cohort, the challenges faced, the individual strengths they bring, and the adaptations necessary to make DVPPs/MBCPs and other interventions more responsive to neurodivergent men and provide safety to victim-survivors.

This study aims to build the evidence on:  

  • The experiences and perspectives of program providers/practitioners,
  • The challenges, needs and strengths of neurodivergent men attending DVPPs/MBCPs,
  • Program adaptations made and/or resources needed to better meet the needs of neurodivergent men who use domestic abuse,
  • Workforce skills and development considerations, and
  • Implications for victim-survivor safety, support and co-located/integrated services and multiagency working.  

What did the project involve?

This research was carried out across three stages of data collection

  • a systematic international literature search to identify studies that reported on the experiences, challenges, needs, and outcomes of ADHD and/or autistic men attending a DVPP/MBCP;
  • an online survey for program providers in the UK and Australia to identify the availability of services adapted to work with this cohort; and
  • semi-structured interviews with international experts, practitioners and organisation representatives working in the field of domestic abuse, including consultancy services and organisations focused on stalking in the context of domestic abuse

Project team

I am the lead researcher for the project which was funded by the Economic Social Research Council as part of a Postdoctoral Fellowship undertaken within the Department of Sociology at Durham University and the Centre for Research into Violence and Abuse (CRiVA). I have a practice background in domestic abuse and experience in researching the experiences of victim-survivors and men who use violence and abuse within intimate relationships. You can read more about my research interests and practice on the other pages of this website.

I was excited to collaborate with Dr Kate Fitz-Gibbon on this international strand of the project. Kate is Director of the Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre and Associate Professor of Criminology in the School of Social Sciences at Monash University and an Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Law and Social Justice at University of Liverpool. 


Findings

Final report

Renehan, N. and Fitz-Gibbon, K. (2022) Domestic violence perpetrator programmes and neurodiversity: Practitioner experiences and perspectives

Summary of findings and recommendations: Click on the image to access an interactive summary

If you would like to discuss the project further, please send me an email: [email protected]