Family Futures

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dvancing

ocial

ntegration

and

ntergenerational

olidarity

Violence was launched with four ‘first-aid sessions’

intended for batterers, so that they would have more under-

standing about anger management and develop non-violent

communication patterns.

Objectives of the BIP include educating abusers on their

accountability by changing batterers’ beliefs, helping them

to find alternatives to abusive behaviours and enhancing

local awareness, as well as accumulating clinical knowl-

edge in handling partner battering. The core contents of

BIP groups are covered in 12 weekly two-hour sessions

including anger management, violence responsibility

enhancement, development of respectful trust and so on.

Partnerships are very important in the identification

and referral of families suffering from violence. Various

have been served by our befrienders since the start of the

Rainbow Pioneers befriender support project for divorced

women and single mothers.

Our specialized services for families suffering from

violence started in 1995. A territory-wide pilot project, the

Batterer Intervention Programme (BIP), was conducted

from 1995 to 2008, enabling batterers to join a 12-session

therapeutic group. Due to the proven effectiveness of the

programme, HKFWS is one of the few recognized organi-

zations on the list of court orders to run anti-violence

programmes since 2008. From 2009 to 2012, BIP groups

were conducted in Integrated Family Service Centers in

order to end violence in intimate partner relationships. In

2013, the Educational Programme on Stopping Domestic

HKFWS anti-violence intervention strategies

Source: HKFWS

Primary level

• Universal preventative intervention for the general public

• Anti-violence education/campaign, promotional and publicity programmes; ambassador programmes; a volunteer

programme to promote peace and to reach ‘hidden’ batterers

Secondary level

• Selective preventive intervention to families or individuals at risk

• Outreach work by large scale outreach visits to community ‘gatekeepers’ to detect high-risk families; district-based sharing

dinners for potential participants of the BIP groups to raise their awareness of domestic violence

Tertiary level

• Indicative preventive intervention to treat individuals with violent behaviours to prevent escalation of violence

• BIP groups using cognitive-behavioural therapy for male/female batterers. BIP Mutual Aid Group for BIP completers

The HKFWS project ‘Little Eyes, Little Ears’ provides guidance on time out and anger management for at-risk children

Image: HKFWS