Mid-term report Hotline
Daphne project; 2002-234
Daphne Programme – Year 2002
Mid-term report
Project No.: JAI / DAP / 02 / 234 / WYC
Title: Setting up a Europe-wide telephone hotline for violent men
Start Date: 31.12.2002 End Date: 31.12.2004
Co-ordinating Organisation’s name:
EUGET European Society for Violence Counselling – Therapy for offenders
Contact person: Project leaders
Names: Andreas Vogel, Joachim Lempert
Address: Fichtenweg 6
Post code: 32760
City: Detmold
Country: Germany
Tel. No: 05231 / 7094814
Fax No: 05231 / 7094815
E-mail: or Website: http://www.euget.org
Project website: www.gewalt-hotline.net
Names and countries of partner organisations:
Männer gegen Männergewalt Ostwestfalen e.V., Germany
(Men against male violence, East Westphalia)
Männerberatung d. Familientherapiezentrums d. Landes, Oberösterreich, Austria (Counselling of men in the Family Therapy Centre, Federal State of Upper Austria)
Mouvement luxembourgeois pour le planning familial, Luxembourg
Beraadslagkantoor voor Mannen en Jongen, Netherlands
Männer gegen Männergewalt, Hamburg e.V., Germany
(Men against male violence, Hamburg)
Klartext – IFS Gewaltberatung, Vorarlberg, Feldkirch, Austria
(Violence counselling)
Männer gegen Männergewalt, Salzburg e.V, Austria
(Men against male violence)
Table of contents
1 Aims of the project 3
1.1 Statement of the problem 3
1.2 Specific objectives of the project 3
1.3 Beneficiaries 4
2 PUTTING THE PROJECT INTO PRACTICE 4
2.1 Developing the blueprint for a Hotline for violent men 4
2.1.1 Provisional blueprint as developed by the project co-ordinator 4
2.1.2 First meeting with the collaborating partners (Munich) 6
2.1.3 Internet publication of our blueprint for the benefit of all participants 7
2.2 Development of appropriate public relations work to reflect the particular situations in the partner countries 7
2.2.1 Examination of previously tried concepts and experience 7
2.2.2 Working meeting with the seven collaborating partners to work out a joint draft advertising concept 7
2.2.3 Adoption of a modified blueprint and an advertising concept for the Hotline on the Web 7
2.3 Specialist conference on: “Low-threshold services for violent men” 7
2.4 Building up a database listing counselling services for the referral of offenders 8
2.5 The planning and setting up of technological infrastructure 8
2.6 Selection of Hotline counsellors, their training and their further training 9
2.6.1 The profile required of a Hotline counsellor working in the Hotline's test phase 9
2.6.2 The first training course for the Hotline's violence counsellors 9
2.6.3 The second training course for the Hotline's violence counsellors 9
2.7 Preparation of back-up evaluation 9
2.8 Test phase for the Hotline 10
2.8.1 Supervision of counsellors 10
2.8.2 Back-up research 10
2.8.3 Analysis of the test phase using back-up evaluation 10
2.8.4 Publication of the results of the test phase 10
2.9 Integration of the service into the work of existing institutions for counselling offenders (sustainability) 10
2.10 Evaluation of the project 10
2.10.1 Half-yearly internal evaluation meetings 10
2.10.2 Evaluation of the project in conjunction with Evolog, Cologne 11
2.11 Production and publication of the final report 11
2.12 Auditing of annual accounts by a tax consultant 11
2.13 Project management activities 11
2.14 Activities of, and contributions from, the project's partners 11
3 RESULTS AND EFFECTS OF THE PROJECT 12
4 PUBLICATION AND PROSPECTS 12
5 RESULTS 13
6 ANNEX: KEYWORDS 13
7 ANNEX: LIST OF MATERIAL: Erreur! Signet non défini.
1 Aims of the project
1.1 Statement of the problem
Ninety-five per cent of domestic violence occurs in the “dark field”. [1] The victims of domestic violence are often unable to break the cycle of violence through their own efforts. They put up with violence and continue to suffer from it. If a victim manages to escape from the cycle of violence, the perpetrator frequently becomes violent towards his new partner or her children. Violence can only be prevented in the future on a firm and permanent basis if it is possible to get hold of the perpetrators and motivate them to stop their violence.
The truth is that when men are physically and sexually violent:
Only the perpetrators of violence can put an end to it.
However, the perpetrators rarely manage to break the cycle of violence without help. There is a stigma attached to violence committed within one's own family, and the underlying patterns of behaviour are gender-specific. That is why the threshold for seeking help is exceptionally high among male offenders.
There have hardly been any investigations so far as to how the perpetrators can be motivated effectively to get in touch with a counselling service and thus change their violent behaviour.
1.2 Specific objectives of the project
Offenders are reached more effectively and are encouraged to seek counselling for violence via a telephone Hotline, a service which has been developed and adapted to the target group's requirements. Thus violence ends where it began: with the perpetrator.
Perpetrators of domestic violence are the primary target group of the project. Only the perpetrators can put a permanent end to violence. Victims can merely get out of harm's way.
First working hypothesis:
Violent men from the “dark field” make use of counselling and therapy when these are available.
Up to now, counselling and therapy have mainly been available for violent men in the “bright field”, who are the tip of the iceberg. ”Bright-field” perpetrators are known to the police and the judicial authorities. Beyond them are “grey-field” perpetrators known to welfare institutions such as youth welfare offices, public order authorities or institutions for the treatment of psychosocial disorders.
The public image of violent men is conditioned by the “bright field” and the “grey field”. Professionals whose work is publicised also foster this image, because the “bright field” and the “grey field” is where their contacts mainly are.
However, a mere five per cent or so of perpetrators belong to the “bright field” and the “grey field”. The picture conjured up is of perpetrators whose origins, background and social class are clearly defined. Mostly, alcohol misuse is involved and women contribute to violence through their provocative behaviour. The Germans have a saying which roughly translates as, “One minute that lot are hitting each other, the next minute they're the best of friends”. There is no room in this picture for the better-off classes or well-educated and cultured offenders. But they are there in reality.
Domestic violence is the only crime known to our society which is evenly spread demographically.
For this reason, working with men from the “dark field” has been neglected, although they make up the majority of offenders.
The Hotline experimental project assumes first that “dark-field” offenders will turn to counselling if they are approached in a way that is appropriate for their target group and if they are offered the right service.
Second, the experience of all counselling services attached to and associated with EuGeT suggests that there is a high probability that a telephone enquiry from a violent man will lead to a six to twelve-month period of counselling as an outpatient to treat his violence.
The critical moment is the point at which contact is made with an offender from the “dark field”. This type of offender can be offered professional counselling if counsellors have found a creative and successful way of approaching him.
Second working hypothesis
The telephone Hotline is a low-threshold approach, which is why it is suitable as a starting-point for approaching this particular group of violent men from the “dark field”.
It is easy for a violent man to ring a hotline, because so little is required of him. The caller can remain anonymous and under no obligation. It does not involve much travelling or spending a lot of time or money. Therefore a hotline offers a low-threshold opportunity for initial contact.
1.3 Beneficiaries
The beneficiaries are all children, young people and women who are subject to male violence.
Victims of domestic violence are not able, or hardly able, to break the cycle of violence through their own efforts. This is because they have often been traumatised for years. The women go back with their children, who are equally affected, and endure further violence. If a victim escapes from the cycle of violence, it may be assumed that the perpetrator will be violent towards his next partner and/or her children.
2 PUTTING THE PROJECT INTO PRACTICE
2.1 Developing the blueprint for a Hotline for violent men
2.1.1 Provisional blueprint as developed by the project co-ordinator
First of all, the project co-ordinators noted down the Hotline's duties in an exercise book. The second step was to convert this list into a provisional blueprint for the Hotline.
Provisional blueprint for the Hotline
1. Evaluation
Initial discussions with the Novara Research Institute and the Evolog Institute clarified for us both the potential and the limitations of evaluation. The research designs they presented differed greatly the one from the other. We decided on the Evolog Institute because it will enable us to learn as we go along, on account of its multi-level analysis and formative evaluation design. This will allow the Hotline to be continuously upgraded during use through the application of research.
2. Financing the test phase
The financing of the Hotline is guaranteed by EU funding, but this does not include resources for local advertising or fees paid to the telephone counsellors. The project has to attract these funds while it is up and running, which means we have to depend on the commitment and contacts of local collaborating partners.
3. Publicity / Advertising
It is fundamental that the Hotline be made known to the target group, so the public must be made aware of its existence. The target group is in the “dark field”, meaning that it cannot be recognised or identified as such. Therefore there must be broadly based publicity and co-operation with professional advertisers.
Extensive publicity campaigns have to be waged in the test locations.
4. Seminars for telephone counsellors
First of all, a profile was developed to describe what is required of a telephone counsellor.
5. Places or regions for the test phase
The Hotline cannot be launched to give blanket coverage in all three countries, so we decided in favour of using regions of varying structures for the test phase.
6. Advising versus referral to other counsellors
The question as to whether the caller should receive advice on the telephone or whether he should be referred to another counsellor was hotly debated. To what extent can one give advice on the telephone? At what stage during intensive telephone consultations will a caller be put off availing himself of further face-to-face counselling?
We developed a hierarchy of objectives as a result of this discussion, the number one objective being to put the caller in touch with an advice centre. If this first objective cannot be achieved, the alternative is to initiate a process of telephone advice at weekly intervals. This counselling should not take place using the Hotline number, in order not to block the Hotline.
7. Chat room
This discussion produced another idea: counselling can also take place within its own chat room. The possible use of a chat room was considered and prepared in such a way that it could be discussed with the collaborating partners. (Please see Point 3 for further results).
The possible use of a chat room was considered and prepared in such a way that it could be discussed with the collaborating partners. (Please see Point 3 for further results).
8. Target group
The Hotline's primary target group consists of men who are violent towards their families. Other groups of likely callers were identified during early discussions. Women who have been violent to their children will probably ring up. We are sure that victims of violence will also contact the Hotline. Journalists and other interested parties will possibly call too. Of course all these groups of callers will have to be given professional advice according to their needs.
9. Lists of addresses for referral
The Internet and current guides to counselling services have to be researched thoroughly, for callers to be referred to other counsellors. The telephone counsellor needs to have the data prepared for him in an uncomplicated way, so that he can access them quickly during telephone calls. It will be especially important to set up a useful and up-to-date database for identifying victims.
10. Choice of telephone counsellors
Here it is necessary to describe the profile required of telephone counsellors. Telephone counsellors must be experienced in working in counselling services dealing with violence. They must be able both to empathise with the perpetrators and to work with them confrontationally.
11. Duties of telephone counsellors
The counsellors' duties are Hotline counselling and being on call. They have to carry out quantitative evaluation. Their duties also include preparing and taking part in quantitative analysis meetings
12. Supranational organisation (Network)
The Hotline is a supranational EU project. For this reason, and to keep expenses down, we intend to set up a supranational network. Not only is there joint organisation of the Hotline, but also all incoming calls from the various test regions are switched to one central number, from where they are directed to the counsellor who is on call.
The collaborating partners and telephone counsellors are spread over various regions and countries. They are to offer a joint service, but at the same time one that is differentiated and specialised. This requires extensive logistics to see that, for instance, all telephone services are manned , or if one counsellor is absent, another one can immediately take over from him
13. Sustained financing / Establishment
From early 2004 the project managers will tackle this task more vigorously, in order to be able to offer the Hotline as a permanent service.
14. Technology
We wanted to set up the Hotline with the same telephone number for the whole of Europe.
15. Website
The Hotline is an EU project, which is why we wanted to publicise it giving an EU website address. On several occasions we were advised that these addresses would be made available to us some time during 2003. Plans were made for the following domains: www.Gewalt-Hotline.eu / www.Hotline.eu.