Concluding thoughts: future research directions and recommendations for practice

In the conclusion to our first book, and the introduction to this book, we highlighted that despite decades of research and evidence demonstrating the inefficacy of the “one-size-fits-all” approach in working with victims, perpetrators, and families where there is IPV, this approach remains dominant. It is an approach influenced by models of gender-based violence which posit IPV has a problem of men’s violence towards women embedded in a society governed by male privilege and gender inequality (Dobash & Dobash, 1979, 2004). This myopic lens through which IPV is viewed leaves several areas in research and practice under studied and under resourced. For example, there is still a focus on labelling the perpetrator/victim dichotomy at the cost of fully understanding bidirectional violence. Models focusing on gender inequality stifle our understanding of the ways in which early childhood trauma can impact on adult relationships and conflict management. Most obviously relevant for this volume is that the men as perpetrators and women as victims narrative prevails at the cost of understanding women’s violence, men’s victimisation, and experiences of those within the LGBTQ+ community.