How men’s perspectives on intimate female partner abuse change after a rehabilitation programme

M.A. (Social Work)Abstract: Despite the immense research studies conducted by various individuals and organisations, there is little attention given to the perpetrators of intimate partner violence. Generally the past studies concentrated on reasons for violence and the victim perspective. The literature available also tends to pay more attention to the victims. The purpose of the study was to explore if there was a change in men‘s perceptions about abusing their intimate female partners after attending a rehabilitation programme. Intimate partner violence remains a huge challenge in South Africa as is the case in many parts of the world. There has been an increase in reported cases of intimate partner violence including husbands/partners killing their wives or partners. In some cases, their ex- partners or husbands are killing women. The study was conducted at the NICRO offices in Soweto and was a qualitative-exploratory study. This was an in-depth study that was done to understand the intimate partner abuse from the participants‘ point of view. Eight participants were interviewed. The findings from the study were that men often do not perceive their behaviour towards their intimate partners as abusive, despite the attention and spotlight put on the violence, especially through media. The environment they grew up in played a crucial role in molding them for the future. The perpetrator rehabilitation programme is one of the interventions available to help reduce or eliminate intimate partner abuse. Overall, the rehabilitation programme was attested to be a success. The participants acknowledged that the programme empowered them to have a different perspective of intimate partner violence and generally a different outlook on how they viewed relationships. As part of a prevention strategy, boy children should from an early age be taught to treat human beings in general and women more specifically, with dignity and respect