Evaluating the success of programmes for perpetrators of violence as an accountability practice

Abstract

In recent years, stakeholders in Italy's anti-violence sector have fuelled a heated debate around the institutional recognition of Centres for Men Authors of Violence (Cuavs). Concerns have been raised about the risk of treatment pathways becoming securitarian and pathologising due to recent regulatory interventions in the criminal justice sector. A call for accountability has also been raised regarding the definition of "success" and the tools used by Cuavs to evaluate the pathways of perpetrators of violence. After exploring the evolutionary dynamics of the Cuavs and the debate surrounding them, this paper investigates the Cuavs' positioning and perspectives on defining the goals of these pathways and how to measure them. It interrogates the definition of 'success' in treatment pathways by rethinking the relationship between individual responsibility, the deconstruction of gender structures and the security of (former) partners in evaluations, connecting scientific research with operational practices.

Keywords: perpetrators programmes, evaluation of effectiveness, success, accountability, gender-based violence.