A pilot and feasibility trial of a voluntary domestic abuse perpetrator group programme has been conducted as part of the REPROVIDE project, in which Respect is a partner.
The paper, published in the BMC Public Health journal, explores how well the project recruited, randomised, and retained men and their current or former partners for the study.
Its secondary goals were to:
- Check if participants completed questionnaires.
- Create a plan to ensure the intervention is delivered correctly.
- Test the collection of data on resource use and costs for cost-effectiveness analysis.
- Determine whether the intervention is acceptable to perpetrators, victims/survivors, and staff.
- Assess whether female partners are willing and safe to participate in the trial.
- Find ways to improve retention of participants in both the intervention and control groups.
- Determine the support and supervision needed for those delivering the intervention.
The REPROVIDE team also wanted to find the best way to measure changes in abuse and decide if the reports from partners or male perpetrators should be the main outcome in the final trial.
The report concluded that it was possible to recruit, randomise, and retain male perpetrators and female victims of abuse, and collect their self-reported data. Participants involved in the intervention also reported positive benefits.