Perpetrator Intervention Program Completion Certificates Are Dangerous

Perpetrator intervention program completion certificates are dangerous for adult and child survivors. How can a piece of paper be dangerous? It can be dangerous when it convinces a judge or magistrate to grant a perpetrator unsafe access to children. It can be dangerous when it convinces a survivor to give a perpetrator another chance that he doesn’t deserve. It can be dangerous when it communicates to a perpetrator a false sense that he has done all the work he needs to do to change. And it can be dangerous when it wrongly communicates to others he’s changed, creating pressure on the survivor to forgive and forget. Perpetrator intervention program certificates (or completion letters) that primarily reflect attendance or participation—and not real and measurable responsibility and behavior change—can actually increase the ability of perpetrators to control and dominate the lives of survivors and their children.