Interventions for Intimate Partner Violence: A Historical Review

Intimate partner violence (IPV), also known as domestic abuse or relationship violence, has generated a large research literature for the last half-century, particularly in the areas of criminal justice, psychology, and the social sciences. Interventions for victims and perpetrators of IPV have largely been sequestered to separately evolving efforts of law enforcement and the psychotherapeutic community (Chang et al. Women’s Health Issues, 15(1), 21–30, 2005; Dalton Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 15(1), 59–75, 2007; Dobash and Dobash 2000; Feder et al. 2008; Gerbert et al. Journal of Family Practice, 49(10), 889–895, 2000; Wathen and MacMillan. Journal of the American Medical Association, 289(5), 589–600, 2003). This article presents a brief overview of the historical evolution and development of these discrete perspectives and identifies and assesses current collaborative interventions rooted in these historical precedents. In conclusion, the authors provide a summative discussion of the most current findings of research into IPV interventions, with a particular focus on the changing roles of race and gender in both the criminal prosecution of IPV and services provided to IPV perpetrators and victims.