Underclass Men in Batterer Intervention Programs: Disorders and Disparities

The criminal justice system has come to rely on a batterer intervention program (BIP) in sentences for domestic violence offenders, but BIPs suffer from a reputation problem, with both completion and reoffense rates hovering around 50%. The role of social class in battering and in legally mandated B...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inFamilies in society Vol. 91; no. 4; pp. 394 - 400
Main Authors Bennett, Larry W., Hsieh, Chang-Ming, Stoops, Charles
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.10.2010
Sage Publications Ltd
Subjects
Criminal Justice
Criminals
Domestic violence
Family Violence
Intervention
Males
Men
Social Class
Social classes
Underclass
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Summary:The criminal justice system has come to rely on a batterer intervention program (BIP) in sentences for domestic violence offenders, but BIPs suffer from a reputation problem, with both completion and reoffense rates hovering around 50%. The role of social class in battering and in legally mandated BIPs, although indirectly referenced in most studies, is rarely examined as an explanatory factor. This article discusses the results of a study of 540 men arrested for domestic violence and sentenced to a BIP. Results suggest that social class is a significant predictor of program completion, with program completion for those categorized as overclass being twice those categorized as underclass. The authors discuss implications for community and criminal justice response to domestic violence.
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ISSN:1044-3894
1945-1350
DOI:10.1606/1044-3894.4038