UCalgary researchers locate intervention points to prevent male perpetration of domestic violence

A new publication from the School of Public Policy and Shift: The Project to End Domestic Violence enhances our understanding of the trajectory and patterns of perpetrators of domestic violence and investigates potential responses that could prevent and stop male domestic violence against women. 

Co-authors Lana Wells, Ken Fyie, Ron Kneebone, Casey Boodt, Kim Ruse, Stephanie Montesanti and Rebecca Davidson drew on a decade of data from the Calgary Police Service (CPS) to explore the predictors and risk factors of male perpetration.

The study reveals that an astounding 73 per cent of men who were charged with domestic violence already had at least one prior interaction with police, either as a criminal charge or as a domestic-violence police encounter.

Domestic violence is overwhelmingly gendered, with women and girls accounting for 68 per cent of family-violence survivors and 78 per cent of intimate partner-violence survivors. And, indisputably, the majority of domestic violence perpetrators are men. Men commit 99 per cent of sexual assaults against women and are three times more likely to offend criminally, including violent crime.

But this emerging research on the trajectories of perpetration reveals an even bigger picture: domestic violence is not a random event. It can be predicted and prevented.

When the vast majority of perpetrators have contact with police well before they are charged with a domestic violence crime, it’s a telltale warning sign. It’s an indication that there are untapped opportunities for early intervention to stop the criminal trajectory toward a domestic violence charge.

"Our approach to domestic violence must shift," says lead researcher Wells, Brenda Strafford Chair in the Prevention of Domestic Violence and associate professor in the Faculty of Social Work. "Any effective strategy to end domestic violence must focus on intervention opportunities long before individuals become perpetrators. 

“Rather than focusing only on how to keep victims safe, we need to prioritize stopping the individuals who perpetuate harm. Our ongoing research agenda is investigating the extent to which police, government and policymakers may be able to use information about the behaviours and trajectories of offenders to intervene proactively and prevent incidents of domestic violence from happening.”

Key findings

The coalition of researchers behind the report — with expertise across social policy, violence prevention, economics, policing practices and community support –— conducted a detailed study of the backgrounds and histories of perpetrators. Leveraging a 10-year dataset supplied by CPS with a sample size of 934 men charged with a domestic violence offence in 2019, the study identifies four key general types of domestic violence perpetrators.

These emerged by analyzing perpetrators’ contact with police in the decade before their domestic-violence charge, including perpetrators who had (1) no prior history with the police; (2) a criminal history, but no non-criminal domestic encounters involving police; (3) a history of non-criminal domestic encounters but no criminal history with police; and (4) a history of both criminal charges and non-criminal domestic encounters with police.

Only 27 per cent of men charged with domestic violence had no prior police involvement beforehand — meaning that more than seven in 10 men had been involved in an incident with police prior to their charge. 

Further, the research demonstrates that, for 64 per cent of men, there is a clear increase in police charges and interactions in the two years before their domestic-violence charge. In other words, encounters with police trend upward right before they commit domestic violence.

Next steps in preventing domestic violence

Red flags emerge right before a criminal charge happens. These findings demonstrate the need for proactive policies and practices that can disrupt the escalation of violence.

“Preventing domestic violence is not only possible, it’s within reach if we can work together to act on these findings,” says Wells. “Governments, police and community organizations can all develop new practices to interrupt the perpetration of violence and connect with men before criminal charges happen.”

Canada does not currently have a comprehensive strategy for engaging men and boys to prevent violence, federally or in any province or territory. Wells argues that, by developing, funding and implementing these action plans, we can change the cultural and structural conditions that set up men to perpetrate the vast majority of violence against all people. Meanwhile, policing practices can shift to engage men by developing accountability plans that provide resources and support to prevent future violence.

“For too long, the burden has been placed on victims and survivors to keep themselves safe,” says Wells. “If we truly want to stop violence, we must shift our focus to prevention to ensure men receive the guidance and resources needed to create safer, healthier relationships.”

This emerging research asks us to attend to male-perpetrated violence directly — not as an issue of blame or shame, but as a problem that requires targeted intervention, resourcing and support.

The full report is available on the School of Public Policy website.