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DVIP’s Principles and Objectives
- The primary aim of all domestic violence intervention work is to increase women and children’s safety.
- At DVIP, because the safety of women and children comes first, we always maintain a woman’s complete confidentiality unless it comes into conflict with our child-protection policy.
- Only limited confidentiality is offered to men. It is a condition of attendance at DVIP that each man tells us how to contact his (ex)partner and other women at risk from his abuse. We will contact them to offer them the Women’s Services. It’s also a condition that he gives us the contact details for probation workers, social workers and other professionals involved in his case. We will contact all relevant professionals and discuss his case with them. Finally, if we have any specific cause for concern about the risk that he poses to anyone, we retain the right to use his otherwise confidential information to warn or inform that person or third parties in any way that we believe will reduce the risk.
- DVIP is part of a community response to domestic violence and aims to work alongside other agencies to stop domestic violence and increase women and children’s safety.
- We believe that where the domestic violence is a crime it should be addressed by the criminal justice system.
- Services for the perpetrators of domestic violence should be provided only if there are parallel support services for women. We believe that if these are not offered, the work may actually increase the danger to women. DVIP actively works to encourage other projects to uphold this principle.
- DVIP is not about reconciliation or mediation and does not undertake couples counselling.
- The client work DVIP undertakes, particularly with domestic violence perpetrators, differs from traditional therapy, counselling and anger management in many respects although we do draw on such techniques and understandings when appropriate.
- Practitioners working in the field of domestic violence should attempt to apply these principles to their own lives.
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