Addressing intimate partner violence among substance misusers: advancing aetiologies and treatment approaches

Intimate partner violence (IPV) includes physical, sexual or psychological harm by a current/ex partner/spouse. It is a global problem, impacting the physical & mental health of victims, perpetrators & their children alike. In the UK, the annual cost of IPV is estimated at £36.7 billion. 1 in 6 males in substance misuse treatment have perpetrated IPV & 1 in 4 females in treatment are victims of IPV, resulting in higher involvement with criminal justice, child protection & mental health services. Few interventions address IPV among this group & those that have been developed are from the US.

There is great division over the importance and appropriateness of individual, situational, cultural & societal factors in explaining IPV. Involving partners from the UK, US, Australia & China enables us to reflect and compare legal, policy & treatment approaches. The contrasting role of patriarchy & control in western & developing countries & among ethnic minorities within these countries will also be compared. Understanding the cultural-constructs of IPV is necessary to develop culturally-sensitive responses. International collaboration allows knowledge innovation and its scaling up through a series of 6 connected multi-stakeholder seminars.

The seminar series will advance our cross-cultural, multidisciplinary understanding about the causes of IPV among substance misusers. It will also enhance our knowledge about effective policy & treatment approaches. Several principal competing theories exist as to why certain people are more likely to be perpetrators or victims of IPV on which current treatment approaches are based. In order to advance our understanding of best practice, the seminar series will bring together leading academics, early career researchers (ECRs), PhD students, practitioners, policy makers, educators and other key stakeholders to debate these issues from different perspectives & experiences with a view to learning from each other & informing policy, practice, education & training. The seminars will explore the relationship between IPV & substance misuse, the consequences & causes of IPV, & sociological considerations of IPV & substance misuse, including gender & culture. How best to address IPV among substance misusers will be debated by discussing risk & assessment criteria, treatment approaches, novel technologies (including web based, phone applications & gaming technologies) & public policy.

ECRs & PhD students will be encouraged & supported to present their work & collaborate on dissemination & research proposal development.

6 seminars will be held, 3 in the UK & 3 internationally (US, Australia, China). There will be 30 core participants (academics, ECRs & PhD students)-15 from 4 UK Universities (Greenwich, Kings College London, Nottingham, Glasgow Caledonian) and 15 from 3 international Universities (Rochester Institute of Technology(US), Melbourne(Australia) & Hong Kong(China)). The core group of 15 from the UK will attend all UK seminars in person & each CI will attend one international seminar. Similarly, each international CI will attend one UK seminar. Janet video conferencing services will be used to ensure that all 6 seminars are interactive regardless of whether they are attended in person or through the use of video conferencing by the core participant group (15 UK & 15 international participants) to provide continuity, cross-cultural knowledge exchange and foster the development of research proposals. An additional 15 participants from each local area will participate in each seminar, drawn from other Universities, practitioners, policy makers, educators & other stakeholders. In total at least 30 participants will attend each seminar in person or through the use of video conferencing. Seminars will be streamed live & downloadable free-of-charge via the seminar series' website to facilitate participation in all seminars. 3 collaborative research proposals & 2 manuscripts will be produced.

A wide range of non-academic professionals & practitioners will benefit from the proposed seminar series including health & social care professionals, GPs, police & criminal justice systems, policy makers, organisations, charities & service user groups representing victims & perpetrators of IPV &/or people with substance misuse problems.

Many of these representatives previously attended the Centre for Applied Social Research Centre's annual lecture on addressing IPV in substance misuse treatment, & have expressed an interest in being involved in the seminar series. The format of the seminars will ensure a continuous learning approach to understanding the role of substance misuse & IPV & why some people are more likely to be victims or perpetrators of IPV than others. It will provide evidence-based solutions & practice to effectively addressing these dual problems through the presentation of ground breaking research & the inclusion of practical problem solving through the use of clinical case vignettes & the discussion workshops on the implications of the findings on their future practice & policy.

Discussions will cover a number of themes including the aetiology of co-occurring IPV & substance misuse, different social & cultural experiences & expectations, the role of substance misuse in IPV, & evidence based policy & practice to addressing these co-occurring issues in an integrated manner. These have been identified as ongoing issues for practitioners & policy-makers. The seminar series will address these & other relevant issues identified during the seminar workshops from academic & practitioner perspectives, allowing the seminar series to evolve as required to address the needs of potential beneficiaries.

Seminar 1 provides beneficiaries with a greater understanding of the size of the problem & the consequences of IPV which may impact on the way they assess & respond to substance misusers, taking care to screen for IPV & examine other associated comorbid issues. Seminar 2 assists with the understanding of why some people are more likely to perpetrate IPV. By debating existing theories & reaching an agreed understanding, previous views may be challenged which may result in a change in practice & policy that enhances the treatment response for substance misusers who are victims or perpetrators of IPV. In Seminar 3, the differing typologies of perpetrators will be considered & discussed in relation to treatment approaches & needs. Seminar 4 examines the differences cross-cultural beliefs about IPV & the role of substance misuse in IPV perpetration. Cross-cultural comparative analysis of the legal and policy contexts will be provided. This will assist beneficiaries understand the cross-cultural perspectives of their patients/clients & provide an improved cross-culturally appropriate response as a result. The final two seminars examine how to improve treatment access, engagement & retention & present ground breaking research on behavioural therapies & novel technologies to effectively address these dual problems. Knowledge exchange will ensure an improved treatment response for substance misusers, which could result in a reduction of IPV & improvements in well-being for the victims & other family members.

Each of the 6 seminars is designed to reflect practitioners' current concerns & those issues that are currently being debated &/or addressed in academic research. The series will also benefit policy-makers, commissioners & education providers as improved understandings of these issues can influence the way in which professionals & agencies design policy and training responses.

The availability of the seminar series via video conferencing, live streaming & captured on the research seminar series website will ensure the wide dissemination of the outputs. The website will be publicised via existing academic/professional networks. It will also facilitate collaborations between practitioners & academics