Project Mirabal is an award winning research project which investigated the question ‘Do domestic violence perpetrator programmes (DVPPs) actually work in reducing men’s violence and abuse and increasing the freedom of women and children?’
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This website is only about the research project – if you are looking for advice and guidance to change your behaviour, to find out where your nearest programme is, or if you are a professional needing support with working with perpetrators then you should 0808 8024040 or visit respectphoneline.org.uk.
The research took place between 2009-2015 across 11 Respect accredited domestic violence perpetrator programmes in the UK. It was led by Professor Liz Kelly and Professor Nicole Westmarland who were supported by a team of researchers and administrators*. The research was funded by the ESRC and Northern Rock Foundation.
The project is named after the three Mirabal sisters murdered in Dominican Republic, who became symbols of popular and feminist resistance to violence in South America where the date they were killed – November 25th – was designated a day to protest violence against women. This day gained global recognition in 1999 when it was endorsed by the UN.
We titled our final report ‘Steps Towards Change’ in line with our overall research conclusion: our data shows steps towards change do start to happen for most men. Some men make only a few, halting steps forward. A tiny minority take steps backwards. Others start taking small steps and end up taking huge leaps. For many men, women and children, their lives are improved following a domestic violence perpetrator programme.
We conclude that whilst there is more work to be done, overall, we are optimistic about their ability to play an important part in the quest to end domestic violence.
*Three research teams developed the methodology, collected the data and analysed it: Kara Jarrold, Kerry Lee, Ruth Phillips and Nicola Sharp at London Metropolitan University: Sue Alderson, Hannah Bows, Julia Downes, Simon Hackett and Richard Wistow and at Durham University; Tanya Abramsky, Anne Gatugata, Natasha Howard, Charlotte Watts and Cathy Zimmerman from London School of Tropical Medicine. Aruna Dhudia (London Metropolitan University), Pauline Harrison and Maria Aznarez (Durham University) provided invaluable administrative support.
