Counselling as an intervention strategy for men who use violence in their intimate relationships

International research increasingly highlights that if a significant reduction in intimate partner violence (IPV) is to be achieved, it will be important to establish interventions that include both men and women, and are aimed at addressing the social norms that maintain such violence. In South Africa 1 in 4 men report to use some form of violence in their intimate relationships. In some instances in South Africa it has been found that men do not view their behaviour as constituting violence since these harmful practices are ingrained in the culture as normal, culturally appropriate, and normative intimate relationship behaviour. In the current formative evaluation, an exploration into counselling services as an intervention strategy for men who use violence was done in Mitchell’s Plain, South Africa. This study included in-depth interviews with men (N=6) who used violence in their intimate relationships, and focus-groups with their counsellors (N=4). Men reported violence as a personal crisis aggravated by social environments. Furthermore, counsellors perceived help seeking of men to be based on individual choice. The conceptualisation of IPV, experiences of reciprocal abuse in relationships, help-seeking behaviour and masculinity, access to intervention services for men, and ultimately the preliminary outcomes of counselling on men’s violent behaviour were explored.status: publishe