Nine men graduated from the counselling programme Partnership for Peace last week, said Lorolie Connor, who heads the Office of Gender Affairs.
Since the programme began, 109 men, including inmates at Her Majesty’s Prison, have completed the course, which teaches former abusers strategies designed to avoid domestic violence.
Only four have re-offended, Ms. Connor said on Tuesday.
“This year, the men seemed to have truly enjoyed the sessions,” Ms. Connor said. “This group ranged in age from the young to probably middle age, which we’ve seen a lot lately.”
Some participants come into the programme reluctantly, but their attitude tends to change quickly, the programme coordinator said.
“A lot don’t want to go through it: They feel like they’re being forced to do something they don’t want to do,” she said. “It’s a recommendation: You don’t have to take it — or you can go to jail. It’s not an alternative to jail, either, but there has to be some sort of mechanism in place where the bahaviour is dealt with.”
See the Sept. 15, 2016 edition for full coverage.