Batterers Intervention Service (BIS)

The Batterers Intervention Service (BIS) is an educational program for men who want to take responsibility for their own behavior and learn skills to start that change now. 

This is a comprehensive educational program that meets once a week for 2 hours for a total of 30 weeks. 

FSA NEPA has adopted the Duluth model, “Creating A Process Of Change For Men Who Batter”. Referrals are made through the courts for men who have violated their Protection from Abuse (PFA) order and/or have committed a crime involving domestic violence, other agencies, and individual men themselves. 

The program goals include: focusing the dialogue in class on his choice to use violence as a means to control his partner and the beliefs that support that behavior, emphasis on a clear philosophy that battering and violence is not the fault of the victim and recognizing that our culture has sanctioned the use of these behaviors to maintain dominance in relationships.

The ten themes of the curriculum are: Nonviolence-Physical Violence; Nonthreatening Behavior-Using Intimidation; Respect-Using Emotional Abuse; Trust & Support-Using Isolation; Honesty & Accountability-Minimizing, Denying & Blaming; Responsible Parenting-Using Children; Shared Responsibility-Using Male Privilege; Economic Partnership-Using Economic Abuse; Sexual Respect-Sexual Abuse; and Negotiation & Fairness-Using Coercion & Threats. 

• Week 1 – Defining the theme and exploring non-controlling and nonviolent behavior. 
• Week 2 – Exploring the use of specific acts of abuse as tactics of control. 
• Week 3 – Exploring and practicing non-controlling and nonviolent behavior.