Services for people who cause harm are a crucial part of our work to support survivors, foster healthful relationships and communities, and end violence. This blueprint is the product of a year-long process led by Purvi Shah, independent consultant to NYC’s Blueprint for Abusive Partner Intervention and hosted by the Center for Court Innovation.
The following Executive Summary provides a brief project overview and a summary of recommendations across the three areas: transformative solutions; concrete innovations in accountability with healing; and, integration of services towards safety, wellness, and impact.
How do we design programs and interventions for people who have caused harm based on an understanding of the connections between structural violence, state violence, community violence, and interpersonal violence? And how do we interrupt cycles of violence? Booklet 1 of Seeding Generations grapples with these questions by suggesting strategies that center survivors, long-term transformative solutions in addition to short-term crisis response, and, community-led solutions focused on changing behavior, norms, and human possibility in order to transform cultures of violence towards healthy relationships and communities.
Author Purvi Shah shows off her report as New York City First Lady Chirlane McCray looks on. The occasion was the launch of the First Lady's “Interrupting Violence At Home” initiative to intervene in and reduce domestic violence
How do we encourage capacity for people who cause harm to be healthy and in healthy relationships? One core strategy is to connect accountability with healing in a framework that allows for wholeness through access to holistic services. Booklet 2 of Seeding Generations elaborates on trauma-informed approaches to suggest strategies for holistic services, behavior change, and program innovations towards accountability with healing.
For many survivors of intimate violence, there is no disconnect between receiving services themselves and having their loved ones simultaneously get support in transforming behaviors. Especially for survivors who seek to remain in the relationship in question–by choice and/or necessity—having whole family interventions and options in services is vital. It is crucial to integrate interventions for people who cause harm into the field of survivor advocacy—especially to ensure interventions are responsible to survivors and children. Booklet 3 of Seeding Generations suggests strategies to integrate abusive partner interventions and innovations towards safety, wellness, and systems impact.
This resources grid is a companion to the Seeding Generations report and a starting place for research, conversation, and learning on interventions for people who cause harm. This resources grid is a launching point for further exploration and not a comprehensive listing.