| Most of the men's programs on domestic violence in North America are based on power and control theories, which call upon these men to be re-socialized and re-educated towards treating women as equals. Unfortunately, these programs (Saunders, 1996; Sonkin, 2000; Tolman & Edelson, 1995; Wexler, 2000) have not been successful in dealing with psychological abuse and therefore presenting recidivism. Current research (Dutton, 1988, 1995; Hastings & Hamberger, 1988) indicates that a substantial percentage of perpetrators have psychological deficits and could benefit from psychotherapeutic interventions along with psychoeducational and resocialization approaches. Although the problem of domestic violence is evident in most cultures, the notion of "one size fits all" (Dunford, 2000, p. 475) is rapidly being seen as being ineffective in the treatment approaches with perpetrators of domestic violence from non-mainstream cultures (Geffner, Barrett & Rossman, 1995; Jacobson & Gottman, 1998; Walker, 1994, 1996; Walker & Meloy, 1998).;This dissertation on domestic violence focuses on the unique components in the South Asian culture that the South Asian immigrant brings to the San Francisco Bay Area. It presents case examples to illustrate these unique components in the culture, which promote domestic violence, and utilizes Sonkin's (2000) Domestic Violence Court Mandated Perpetrator Assessment and Treatment Handbook to synthesize psychoeducational, resocialization and psychotherapeutic techniques to formulate a treatment approach for male perpetrators in this community. |
