MENS Online Facility Development

Men’s behaviour change programs are an important aspect of reducing violence against women and children in our community.

The Men Engaging New Strategies (MENS) program at RA Tas is offered to low/moderate offenders of family violence who are accepting responsibility for their behaviour. Typically, men who engage with the program have identified that they need assistance with their mental health and strategies to work towards respectful relationships.

The 19-week program consists of four individual counselling sessions where practitioners assess the suitability and eligibility of the participant to continue into the group work component. If suitable, participants are enrolled in the 10-week group program based on a feminist framework of family violence. MENS uses Cognitive Behavioural Therapy practices to increase understanding around why participants’ behaviours are unacceptable, and strategies to help them make different choices.

MENS uses Cognitive Behavioural Therapy practices to increase understanding around why participants’ behaviours are unacceptable, and strategies to help them make different choices.

The group uses the voices of the women and children in the participants’ lives to ensure that participants can personally identify with the material based on their own family circumstances. The program also incorporates practitioner contact with participants’ current or ex-partners to assess their safety and to provide referrals to other specialist family violence services if needed.

Once the group has finished, participants are given four individual counselling sessions to consolidate the learnings and to move into an action phase of change. This is then followed with a group reunion three months later to see if change has been sustained. The program is clearly outlined to participants as one step towards their behaviour change, and that meaningful change only occurs when new behaviours are ongoing and consistent. They can then move into respectful relationships and keep the women and children in their lives safe from their abuse.

In addition to the MENS program, an online program has been developed to increase opportunities to solidify learnings and to focus on how to make positive changes outside of sessions.

In addition to the MENS program, an online program has been developed to increase opportunities to solidify learnings and to focus on how to make positive changes outside of sessions. Participants are provided a login at intake and asked to work through the program content outside of counselling and groupwork. Participants entries in the program are made available to practitioners for further exploration during sessions. The online facility has further use outside of MENS, as the general public can access the resource and complete a limited version of the program with information about what family violence looks like, strategies to manage emotions and behaviours, and how to work towards respectful relationships.