Paper presented at the conference "Reducing criminality : partnerships and best practice" convened by the Australian Institute of Criminology, in association with the WA Ministry of Justice, Department of Local Government, Western Australian Police Service and Safer WA and held in Perth 31 Julky and 1 August 2000

In 1995 the Western Australian government Family and Domestic Violence Taskforce produced a number of key recommendations addressing service and support to victims; programs for perpetrators; 'grass roots' partnerships; and changing community attitudes and behaviours through a ten year community education campaign. In response to these key recommendations the challenge was to develop a non-punitive campaign focussing primarily on perpetrators (and potential perpetrators), asking them to seek help to change their violent ways. The logic behind the campaign is that if violent men voluntarily change their violent behaviour, this will not only reduce the incidence of violence, but also reduce the fear felt by their women partners and children. Elements of the Campaign include mass media supported by a combination of strategies that reinforce the key messages and create environments that promote and sustain intentions towards behaviour change. This paper describes the research program that has underpinned all stages of the campaign development and evaluation to date.

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