The Duluth Model, what it is and is not: Clarifying and correcting common misconceptions

In recent years, there has been a growing movement towards the development of co-ordinated and integrated community responses to domestic violence.The Duluth Model is perhaps the best known and most prominent of the successful co-ordinated programs, gaining international recognition. Many aspects of the Duluth Model have been replicated both in Australia and elsewhere but do we really know what Duluth is? There have been many discussions and debates about the Duluth Model. Some of these discussions have been based on fact, some on fiction and others on pure fantasy. It is often misrepresented as ‘a mandated men’s program’, a ‘pro-arrest approach’ or a ‘no drop prosecution program’. Recently we were astonished to hear the claim made in a public forum that the Duluth Model was the preferred model for male violence intervention used in Queensland and that it runs for 12 weeks. It has been these kinds of misconceptions that have prompted us to write this short apologia for the Duluth Model. While the authors in no way offer themselves as ‘experts’ on the Duluth Model we both have had considerable contact with the Duluth Program. One of the authors has visited Duluth, spending time with the program and speaking at length with the founder, Ellen Pence. The other has trained in the Duluth men’s curriculum and program facilitation and worked for two years in the USA co-facilitating up to four men’s groups (based on the Duluth Model) per week. We welcome this opportunity to provide some insight into what Duluth is and isn’t and raise some questions for our own interpretation and application to program development