There aren’t many men like our colleague Evan McPhee (Mac), who is using his own traumatic personal experience to help male perpetrators of Family and Domestic violence (FDV) take responsibility for their actions .
For just over four years, Mac has been a senior facilitator at Communicare’s Breathing Space program working directly with men to identify and correct violent behavioural patterns. In an interview with SBS for the documentary, Mac shared how male anger can create generational trauma.
Through the episodes of newly released SBS documentary See What You Made Me Do, author Jess Hill takes the audience on a confronting journey uncovering the reality and impacts of FDV that continues to grapple our nation today.
In last night’s third and final episode, Jess highlighted domestic and international innovations that aim to stop the cycle of violence from the male’s perpetrator perspective.
One of these innovations was Communicare’s Breathing Space – the first residential men’s behavioural program in the southern hemisphere, operating right here, across two of our sites in Perth.
In an insightful interview, Mac recounts the positive revelations of men from all walks of life who had completed our program, which relies on perpetrators rebuilding their family units by accepting accountability for their actions.
“This is an aspect they have to want to change in their lives and only by putting themselves into their victims’ shoes can they truly understand the damage they are wreaking,” said Mac.
Modelled on other therapeutic programs in the United States, Communicare’s Breathing Space helps men address the root of violence over six months of intensive group and individual counselling, drug and alcohol counselling as well as training, education and employment support.
Although more women are speaking up, this ground-breaking documentary has revealed that FDV is a crisis that impacts us all. More must be done at the State and Territory levels to help people like Mac and the rest of our Communicare Breathing Space team help end our nation’s ‘other’ pandemic.
If you missed episode three of ‘See What You Made Me Do’, we encourage you to watch the rerun on SBS on Demand – click here.
Image Source: David Dare Parker for Northern Pictures
