Di Cherng
Shiuh-Li Liuh Memorial Foundation
Battering is a crime and social problem. It inflicts tremendous harm to society in terms of physical and psychological injury to victims and their children. After the domestic violence prevention law has been constituted in Taiwan, the battered women can protect their own rights through judicial ways and demand the batterers to attend batterer intervention programs in order to correct their violent behaviors. This article reviews the judicial bases, historical background, theories and philosophy, current program models, outcomes of batterer intervention programs, and the connections between legal system and batterer intervention programs. Because batterer intervention programs can not reduce domestic violence in isolation, a strong, accountable, and coordinated justice response can have a significant influence on the efficacy of batterer intervention programs. The combined impact of trying, arresting, prosecution adjudication, and intense court monitoring may send strong and consistent messages to batterers about their responsibilities of violent behaviors. Because batterer intervention programs can only change individual abusive behaviors, a coordinated community response through cooperative work among community organizations, criminal justice systems, victim advocates, mental health institutions, education agencies, social services, and religious groups can build new non-violent culture in order to deter domestic violence effectively.
Keywords: domestic violence, batterer intervention program,domestic violence prevention law, pre-trial assessment, battered woman, coordinated community response to violence