Curriculum

(1) Certified Programs shall have written curricula that shall be included with requests for certification submitted to the Domestic Violence State Coordinating Council under Rule 0490-1-.08. (a) Batterers intervention programs considering the establishment of intervention services for categories of batterers other than heterosexual males shall include in their request for RULES FOR BATTERER’S INTERVENTION PROGRAMS CHAPTER 0490-1 certification submitted to the Domestic Violence State Coordinating Council under Rule 0490-1- .08 material that demonstrates to the Council that they have the trained expertise to understand the dynamics of such categories of batterers or have established an effective procedure for consulting with battered women advocates, gay or lesbian advocates, or other appropriate persons with specific expertise in domestic violence in such populations. (2) Each curriculum shall include, but not be limited to, the following materials: (a) The statutory definitions of “domestic abuse” and “victim” found in Tennessee Code Annotated § 36-3-601 (1998 Supp.); (b) Specific acts of abuse that batterers may use that are crimes under the Tennessee or Federal criminal codes; (c) Other acts of abuse that may or may not be criminal offenses, including the following: 1. Physical abuse. 2. Sexual abuse. 3. Emotional abuse. 4. Intimidation. 5. Coercion and threats. 6. Isolation. 7. Economic abuse. 8. Abusive behavior based on notions of gender superiority or privileges based on gender. 9. Denial, minimizing, and blaming the victim. 10. Abuse of children. 11. Abuse of animals. 12. Destruction of property. 13. Use of children to control the victim. 14. Any other acts that jeopardize the well being and safety of the batterer’s victim, current partner, children, other family members, friends, employees, or others. (d) Materials that guide the batterer in taking responsibility for violent, abusive, and controlling behavior; (e) Materials that teach about the patterns of violence and that help the batterer to identify their own histories and patterns of violence; (f) Materials that teach ways to engage in interpersonal relationships on the basis of equality; RULES FOR BATTERER’S INTERVENTION PROGRAMS CHAPTER 0490-1 (g) Materials that identify the effects of domestic violence on the batterer, the batterer’s victim, the batterer’s current partner, the batterer’s children, other people, and society generally; (h) Materials that facilitate understanding of adverse legal and social consequences of battering; and (i) Materials that facilitate the development of personal accountability, self-respect, and social responsibility. (3) Alternatives to abuse. A Certified Program curriculum shall be designed to accomplish the following goals: (a) Educate batterers about cognitive, emotional, and physical cues that precede the batterer’s choice to use violence; (b) Educate batterers about patterns of irrational or distorted thinking; (c) Educate batterers about the effects of irrational or distorted thinking on emotions and behavior; (d) Improve the batterers’ ability to identify and articulate feelings; (e) Improve the batterers’ empathic listening and communication skills; (f) Improve the batterers’ cooperative decision making and problem solving skills; (g) Improve the batterers’ negotiation and conflict resolution skills; (h) Teach batterers stress management techniques; (i) Teach batterers parenting skills, when applicable; (j) Teach batterers the importance of sharing family responsibilities; (k) Teach batterers the importance of, and the skills required to attend to all legal, social, and financial obligations of the family and community; (l) Teach batterers ways to become responsible citizens and give back to the community; and (m) Teach batterers about power dynamics and the misuse of power, including forms of power based on physical strength, financial control, gender prerogatives and other forms of power dynamics. (4) The responsibility plan. A Certified Program curriculum shall require the batterer to complete a written responsibility plan designed to facilitate the safety of the batterer’s victim or current partner. (a) The responsibility plan shall include, but not be limited to, teaching batterers how to do the following: 1. Relinquish power and control over their victim or their current partner; 2. Strengthen their commitment to being non-abusive; and 3. Become progressively more accountable as the plan is reviewed and revised. RULES FOR BATTERER’S INTERVENTION PROGRAMS CHAPTER 0490-1 (b) The responsibility plan shall also include strategies for the batterer that are designed to keep the batterer’s victim or current partner safe. (5) Cultural context of abuse. Certified Program curricula shall include materials that address the cultural aspects of domestic abuse and cultural and broader societal influences that may support abusive behavior, including, at a minimum, materials in the following general areas: (a) With respect to Certified Programs that include men who have battered women, in addition to topics addressed in all types of Certified Programs, materials should address the importance of learning respect for women, by presenting and exploring topics that will assist such batterers to understand the need for such respect. Such topics could include the following -- 1. Inappropriateness of stereotyping gender role expectations, 2. Connection between much domestic abuse and attitudes and beliefs such as misogyny, sexism, gender bias, belief in male privilege, and beliefs about entitlement and ownership of women, and 3. The use of negative images of women by some batterers to justify and facilitate abuse; (b) With respect to all types of Certified Programs, materials that accomplish the following -- 1. Teach respect for all people, 2. Teach equality and self-determination in all types of relationships, 3. Provide tools that facilitate the development of self respect, including, (i) Personal accountability and responsibility, and (ii) Positive self-sufficiency in relationships, 4. Explore societal myths and beliefs that contribute to domestic abuse, 5. Teach how domestic abuse and other forms of abuse may be passed from generation to generation, 6. Teach batterers about the incompatibility of domestic abuse and responsible parenting, and 7. Discuss the relationship of alcohol and drug abuse to domestic abuse. (6) Inappropriate approaches. Certified Programs should develop curricula that are effective in stopping batterers from engaging in acts of abuse. It is acknowledged that such curricula will be diverse in nature, and these minimum standards for Certified Programs cannot anticipate which approaches in curricula will work in specific settings. Nonetheless, the following principles shall apply. (a) Approaches that compromise the safety and security of victims shall not be used in Certified Programs, including, without limitation, the following: 1. Approaches that require or invite participation by the victim; and RULES FOR BATTERER’S INTERVENTION PROGRAMS CHAPTER 0490-1 2. Teaching materials or teaching techniques that include or promote victim blaming, belief in the appropriateness of dominance over others, or that in any way deny the batterer’s personal responsibility for abusive behavior. (b) Approaches that have a high risk of compromising victim safety because of the batterer’s skill at coercing the victim to participate or manipulating the victim while participating, shall not be used in Certified Programs, including, without limitation, the following: 1. Couples therapy; and 2. Family therapy. (c) Because substance abuse treatment and batterers intervention are based on different assumptions about the cause of their respective problems and require inconsonant treatment programs, batterers who are also substance abusers shall be referred to substance abuse treatment either prior to or concurrent with participation in a Certified Program. Substance abuse treatment and batterers intervention may be offered by the same organization provided the following conditions are met: 1. The batterers intervention component and the substance abuse component must be clearly separate; 2. Substance abuse counseling may not be used in lieu of batterers intervention; 3. The batterers intervention component may not use a substance abuse model such as approaches that view battering as a disease or physiological condition; and 4. The batterers intervention component must last a minimum of one and a half hours per class. (d) Certified Programs may include anger management components but shall not be based solely on anger management models.