presented by Avraham Hoffmann at the Safer Society conference, Scotland, October 2004

Let me start by telling you a few words about the Israeli Prisoner Rehabilitation Authority, of which I was the Director General for over 19 years, until I retired in 2002.

Prisoner Rehabilitation Authority[1]

We believe rehabilitation is the start of a perpetual struggle, with no end or limits, in which a man stands alone in a struggle with him. The Authority’s philosophy is that there is no person who cannot be rehabilitated, and that everyone has a right to a new beginning. However, it should be recognised that not everyone has the power and ability to achieve the same heights, and that the jumping-off point differs from person to person. Hence, measuring rehabilitation from a solely statistical standpoint implies reducing the value of a human being to an insignificant number. In spite of this conception, and maybe by virtue of this belief, 81% of the inmates that joint the PRA‘s programs are successfully rehabilitated – they do not use drugs or commit crimes – as opposed to 30% among those that did not participate in rehabilitation programs.

The Israeli Prisoner Rehabilitation Authority is a state entity. It was founded in 1984[1], to deal with all inmates: male and female, Jewish and Arab, single and married, as well as with their families. It is mandated to deal with prisoners’ rehabilitation 4 to 6 month preceding their release and in the community during the year following their release from prison. During the pre-release period an individual rehabilitation program is set with each inmate. Participation is voluntary.

How Extensive Is The Domestic Violence Problem In Israel

Israeli society has seen reported domestic violence climb sequentially over recent years, to the point that in 2001 and 2002 more than 20,000 police files were opened for domestic violence every year. Many of these battering husbands or boyfriends end up in prison. Every year there are more domestic violence prisoners and detainees: in 2003, over 1,500 new inmates[2], as opposed to only 570 inmates in 1997[3].

Why Did Domestic Violence Become An Important Public Issue?

In the past domestic violence was not a public issue, in the sense that:

• Women did not complain to the authorities.
• The police was not organised to deal with this issue, even when it was obvious there was violence.
• No appropriate program existed to help the women and treat the husbands. When the husbands were incarcerated – incarceration does end eventually – there were no programs in prison to prepare him toward his release. Often the problem worsens because of the incarceration.

In recent years, the awareness to domestic violence expanded. Israeli society and media’s refusal to let the phenomenon rest unreported, and the judicial and law enforcement system are taking a much firmer line with offenders.

As awareness was growing, there was a need to create appropriate programs and services to deal with this phenomenon.

Before discussing the solutions there is a need to evaluate the phenomenon and draw the profile of the batterers.

What Makes Domestic Violence So Different From Other types of Violence?

It is different from offences that are committed outside the family in two (2) main aspects:

1. The offence was directed to a family member.
2. A legal connection and, in many cases an emotional relation, continues between the offender and his victim. Most of them return to live with their wives that were subjected to their violence.

Dealing with violent inmates must be a high priority

We know that most inmates that were sentenced for domestic violence complete their prison term[4].

Can We Draw A Profile Of The Batterers?

Many years of research have helped us to draw a profile of the male batterer on 3 levels: The personal level; the interpersonal level and the societal level[5].

Interestingly, we have found out that some of these inmates have additional problems such as delinquency, alcohol or drugs dependency, a lack of working habits and employment stability, malfunctioning in the family accompanied by severe violence. Problems that make it almost impossible for them to rehabilitate.

This violence phenomenon is defined as a social problem that necessitates a comprehensive therapeutic approach and the co-operation of all the concerned organisations and services. The Ministry of social affairs emphasises the systematic therapeutic approach that must include the battered women, the batterers and the children who witnessed the violence.

Treating violent released inmates necessitates a unique therapy on both the comprehensive domestic level and on the personal individual level. It requires professional, skilled and experienced staff that knows all the different services that offer solutions to the unique needs of these patients and their families.

What Is Israel Doing To Treat This Problem?

The first step was to open shelters for battered women. However it meant moving the women to a safer place. But not solving the real problem: the batterer’s violence, since in most cases these women eventually return to their husbands.

Until recently a few programs were developed to treat the male batterers and their families:

1. Non-violence therapeutic groups in day centres[6].
2. “Beit Noam” – A residential hostel for violent men.[7]

These programs were not meant for released inmates. Moreover, due to the new policies the number of domestic violence inmates increased considerably. Hence, a few programs were developed in the Prison Services:

1. Prison Services’ training program for social workers who treat male batterers while incarcerated.[8]
2. Anti-Violence Committees of the Prison Services and the Ministry of Social affairs, that discuss each domestic violent inmate, aiming at protecting the victims and ensuring their safety during the inmate’s prison leaves and after his final release.
3. “House of Hope” (“Beit Hatikva”) – opened in 2000 by the Prison Services, which is a special domestic violence treatment unit.

What Is The Incarceration’s Effects On Domestic Violence?

The incarceration itself without continued therapy may cause further and escalating violence, because in many cases the wives’ complaints helped convict their husbands.

The Prison Services concludes that today there is a need to create a continued comprehensive program in the community and to include the women in the therapeutic program, because incarceration often worsens the problem. The temporary separation allows the woman to feel an illusionary security. Her husband being away in prison, she would like to think that the punishment taught him a lesson and therefore the problem is solved.

Moreover, usually the rehabilitation activity done during incarceration stops after the release from prison, and the hard work done is in vain.[9]

Can We Strengthen The Rehabilitation And Ensure A Safer Return Home?

The Prisoner Rehabilitation Authority sees a crucial need in creating a community transitional rehabilitation program set between the release from prison and before the return home. We are opening a Residential Hostel for Domestic Violent men that will offer these inmates a soft landing. It will allow them to overcome the incarceration trauma by returning to live in the community and work, while dealing with the domestic violence issue in a guided and supervised environment.

The PRA’s innovative program continues the work started by the prison services, in order to preserve the investment and therapy done in prison.

What Does The New Therapeutic Model Include And Innovate?

The Hostel’s therapy deals with 2 sets of problems:

1. Problems concerning every inmate returning to society.
2. Domestic Violence Problems.

In the first group of problems we include dealing with the outcomes of being cut-off from society and family and returning back to them:

1. The incarceration stigma.
2. The return to the workplace after a long period or with seeking a work position.
3. Drug and alcohol dependency.

In the Second group we include:

• Domestic violence itself.
• The long-term separation from the family.
• Prepare for the return home. Learn how to create a bridge to the family.

The combination of delinquency and violence, addiction and violence, requires a special therapeutic approach. The hostel deals with all of the inmates problems. However I will focus on the particularity of domestic violence.

What Aspects Of Domestic Violent Men Are Treated?

Stopping the violence: Deal with the attacker’s responsibility; control of anger; sexuality; proper communication between the family members; providing the patient with positive communication tools as opposed to violence.

Family and couple: In light of the violent and defective communication that existed for many years, there is a need to rehabilitate the couple (after stopping the violence) and enable a healthy and positive return back of the husband to his wife and children. Hence the importance for all the family members to participate in therapy, that will enable them to express themselves, go through the changes together and attain together a solution to the family problems.

Learning ways to behave and progressively take responsibility in the family: a violent inmate that is away from home for a long period, is cut off from his family’s daily life, and is not a part of what happens. Therefore he must be trained to progressively take part in house duties and chores. The treatment in the Hostel enables the creation of a relation with his spouse during therapy and to attain common decisions concerning the husbands’ return home and responsibilities.

Future accompaniment of the patients: There is a difficulty to integrate the Hostels’ graduates in community therapy in spite of the crucial need. Hence as a pilot program, it is important to follow up the patients for a period of a year after they leave the Hostel to ensure the preservation of their rehabilitation.

Therefore, there is a need for a comprehensive systematic preparation toward the reunion of the family and a comprehensive therapeutic approach to the offender as well as to the victim and family.

This project is designed to complement the existing services. Its purpose being to ensure the safety of women that are interested in their husbands’ return home, without taking into account the risk entailed by the separation the incarceration caused.

Who Can Join The Hostel?

This program is intended for inmates that were sentenced for domestic violence and that meet with the following criteria:

• Drug free: have gone through a physical detoxification, during or after their incarceration.
• Therapy: Started a therapeutic program in prison.
• Rehabilitation: Participated in a pre-release program of the Prisoner Rehabilitation Authority toward their absorption into the Hostel.
• Potential to rehabilitate: Diagnosed as being capable of changing.
• Their victims: Their violence was mainly towards their companions.

What Do We Expect To Achieve?

• Stop the domestic violence – by teaching techniques of self-control of anger and providing these men with normative behaviour patterns.
• Integrate these released inmates into workplaces.
• Improve their healthy parenting patterns.
• Help them to successfully overcome psychological addictions through a profound psychological therapy.
• Ensure a proper return home through a family therapy with their companion and children, according to the wife’s wish.

Implementation

The program will be divided into 2 consecutive stages:

1. Residential Hostel: Treatment for a period of 6 months. Each cycle will include 12 participants.
2. Follow-up stage: After completing the stay in the hostel, a social worker from the hostel will visit the graduates at home twice a month, will operate a group meeting twice a month and will monitor the gradual passage to community treatment.

Methods and Intervention

The hostel’s goal is to treat comprehensively the patients’ problems. 
The hostel’s treatment is based upon the experience of the Prisoner Rehabilitation Authority’s Hostels, the non-violence centres mentioned before.
The hostel is run like all the other Authority’s Hostels. That is, residents must start working. Employment assistance is given by the Authority’s employment counsellor. In addition the hostel will deal with issues related to released inmates and “clean” drug addicts.

Return Home or Divorce

The Hostel is divided into 2 wings:

1. For men that return home to their family.
2. For men that divorce: Police data shows that 90% of the women are murdered during the divorce or separation process, in most cases because of the women’s wish to separate. The divorce process is loaded with hostility and harsh feelings. Therefore, we recommend that a divorce process should take place during the men’s stay in the Hostel. The social workers accompany these men to court, and help them accept and overcome the divorce.

The Therapy Strategies

1. Individual: intake, setting an administrative and therapeutic contract – the patient will receive an individual therapy at least once a week.

• Group therapy:
  • Therapy groups that will deal with the following subjects: Changing the behaviour and controlling anger, acquiring tools for self control and taking responsibility for personal behaviour, learning to be aware of the needs and desires of their companions, and how to communicate, learning parenting, sexuality, etc. psychodrama  is one of the methods used. These groups will meet 3 times a week.
  • A support group guided by a social worker.
  • The formerly drug dependant residents will attend an N.A. meeting once a week.

• Family and Couple treatment:
  • According to needs there will be a family and/or couple therapy once a week. The innovation of the program is that this therapy takes place in the Hostel before the patient’s return home. The wife attends these meeting voluntarily. Thus in protected conditions and during an assessment process. This population needs intensive care. However the therapy services in the community are not set to treat this kind of population. Their busy timetable and long waiting lists do not suit the released inmates’ urgent need to continue therapy. Preventing a succession in therapy after their release from prison, is most likely to cause an interruption of therapy.
  • The inmate’s children will come with their mother to the treatment meetings. During the therapy they will stay with a special guide for the children. According to needs, the children will take part in the family therapy.

• One evening a week will be devoted to employment problems, enrichment or leisure time activities (such as movie, museum and theatre plays)
• Creating an operational outline for taking responsibility for his home and family by paying bills and providing for subsistence. Patient will learn how to participate in family life. During therapy the patient contributes to his family expenditure.

The Leaves

The leaves from the hostel are part of the treatment. All leaves are authorize according to the wife’s consent, and are given gradually in correspondence with the progress of the therapy and the conjugal relationships.

Preparation Toward The Return Home

Toward the end of the 6 months stay in the Hostel the Hostel’s management and the practitioner in the community will discuss the continued therapy in the community.

It is obvious that it is impossible to resolve all the problems in a period of 6 months. Our aim is to advance the patient as much as possible, to enable him to be ready to rejoin his family. To ensure the endurance and strengthening of the treatment, a social worker will continue the therapy in the patient’s home for a period of one year following his return home.

What Is Special About This Hostel’s Facility?

All other Hostels are set to help the hostels residents – while this hostel helps also his family:

1. There is a need for a room where the children can play, while the parents are in treatment.
2. Geographically the hostel should be easily accessible so the women can join the couple therapy. Therefore it will be situated in one of the major cities, in a region where a large number of released violent inmates live.

Innovative Aspects

This program deals comprehensively with the inmate’s other problems in a transitional setting. Hence, he will be able to go back home free of the problems created by his incarceration and release from prison, and will be ready to devote himself to his family and the continuing therapy.

Conclusions

We are just beginning to run this program. the program will be supervised and assessed by a steering committee of leading professionals. We estimate that within 3 to 5 years we will be able to evaluate it. However, in light of the different Hostels the Authority runs since 1985, to treat released inmates incarcerated for drug and delinquency, we are optimistic. Obviously, according to experience we might change or adapt some of the program’s features.

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Notes

[1] The PRA offers every released inmates an equal chance to a successful rehabilitation, by developing programs to fulfil the special needs of the different populations. Participation is voluntary.

We believe rehabilitation is the start of a perpetual struggle, with no end or limits, in which a man stands alone in a struggle with him. The Authority’s philosophy is that there is no person who cannot be rehabilitated, and that everyone has a right to a new beginning. However, it should be recognised that not everyone has the power and ability to achieve the same heights, and that the jumping-off point differs from person to person. Hence, measuring rehabilitation from a solely statistical standpoint implies reducing the value of a human being to an insignificant number. In spite of this conception, and maybe by virtue of this belief, 81% of the inmates that joint the PRA‘s programs are successfully rehabilitated – they do not use drugs or commit crimes – as opposed to 30% among those that did not participate in rehabilitation programs.

[2] There are also 500 additional inmates that were incarcerated for other offences, for which the problem of domestic violence was revealed during therapy.

[3] There are approximately 10,000 inmates in Israeli prisons.

[4] That is, they are not released for good behaviour after completing 2/3 of their prison term.

[5] Some of the different levels’ characteristics of male batterers are:

Personal level: Low self esteem; Strong urge to control; Defence mechanisms to minimise and deny the violence, and throw the blame onto the wife or circumstances; Predominating emotions of anger, abandonment anxiety, jealousy, dependence and depression; Tendency to interpret interpersonal situations in a distorted fashion; Lacking proper communication skills; Difficulty in trusting others.

Interpersonal level: Batterers are lonely people who tend to avoid society, hesitate to develop close ties and, careful not to choose partners who want close relations; Many batterer-battered couples live in isolated units, which increases the mutual dependency, and vice versa; It creates jealousy; All outsiders are perceived as invasive or threatening; family history: many batterers have themselves suffered from violence in their childhood or were witnesses to violence between their parents.

Societal level: Throughout history women have been battered. The majority of societal institutions, rooted in patriarchal values, ideologies and behaviour patterns, have been understanding of verbal violence as a way for men to vent their anger  and display their power. When the social authority fails to enforce a counter-view, it gives, by implication, society’s sanction for men to treat their women violently.

Sima Blecher, Dana Ben-Yehuda and Orly Safir, “Bet Hatikva (House of Hope) The Israel Prison Service’s National Domestic Violence Treatment Unit,” Innovation exchange (Israel: Ministry of Public Security, 2004).

[6] To date there are 34 local centres in different municipalities, that also deal with violent men. The programs include individual and group therapy. The treatment of the men is given in parallel with that of the wives and children.

[7] It offers an intensive therapy for battering men who have been ordered by the courts to stay away from their family. The Hostel is designed as a home, to allow these men to go through a corrective experience, including taking responsibility for the different daily activities and chores. There are both individual and group therapy. Every morning the men go to work outside the Hostel. They stay in the Hostel for a period of 4 months. It does not accept released inmates.

[8] The Prison Services initiated a program to train the social workers to treat violent men while incarcerated, since most of them go back to their homes after their release from prison. While incarcerated, they have little motivation to participate in therapy and most of them tend to deny their violence. Being aware of these facts the Prison Services works at developing the professional knowledge and expertise of its social workers. To date a group of 25 trained social workers treat domestic violence. They run therapy groups for inmates that were incarcerated for domestic violence. The Prison Service plans to spread out the professional knowledge on domestic violence among all its social workers.

[9] Rotem Sha’er, Therapy in a punishment environment: The experiences of prisoners from the drug detoxification and therapy process within Prison (Jerusalem: Hebrew University, 2003). Sha’er discusses rehabilitation of drug dependent inmates.

The released inmates, interviewed for this research, perceive the therapy in prison as a primary therapy stage and theoretical in essence, that enables the drug addicted inmates to acknowledge their dependence and start a primary therapeutic relationship. However, to strengthen and preserve their new way after their release, a continued therapy is needed, to help them overcome the difficulties they will encounter during the process of integrating the normative society, especially in face of the numerous external stimuli and provocations.

Changing trends and agendas have led many researchers to question whether it is possible for inmates to rehabilitate. A survey of researches that examined the situation of inmates who completed therapy in prison, found that the most positive results were achieved by inmates that attended therapy during a long period, as well as inmates that continued their therapy in the community after their release from prison. Hence, we can assume this can apply to inmates incarcerated for domestic violence.