Targeting Male Perpetrators of Intimate Partner Violence: Western Australia's “Freedom from Fear” Campaign

Abstract

Violence against women by their partners is now recognized as a major international public health problem, in both developed and developing countries. For example, it is estimated that each year in the United States, 4 million women experience a serious assault by their partner and that the victim-related economic cost of partner violence is about $67 billion. Traditional domestic violence campaigns focus on legal threats and sanctions in an attempt to stop men from being violent. While incarcerating violent men and issuing protection orders are necessary components of domestic violence prevention interventions, they do not - and cannot - remove women's fear of the man reappearing at some future time or place, often with tragic consequences. Furthermore, many women do not want to leave the relationship, nor do they want the man incarcerated; they simply want the violence to stop. The Western Australian “Freedom From Fear” campaign is an innovative social marketing initiative that acknowledges these factors and aims to reduce the fears of women (and children) by motivating perpetrators and potential perpetrators to voluntarily attend counseling programs.