CONTENTS

About This Course

Table of Contents

1. Introduction to the Issues
2. Understanding Alcohol Abuse
3. Understanding Violence Against Women
4. Alcohol and Domestic Violence
5. Alcohol, Sexual Assault, and Rape
6. Prevention and Early Intervention
7. Screening and Assessment
8. Diagnosis and Treatment
9. Legal and Ethical Issues

Supplements
Fact Sheets
Videos
Resources

Silence Hurts
Alcohol Abuse and Violence Against Women

Alcohol Screening

Screening for substance abuse is a preliminary step that determines the probability of an alcohol or drug problem. Trained workers in batterers' intervention programs should ask standardized questions and be trained to interpret responses. Many abusers will deny the use of alcohol and minimize the effect it may have had on the violence. As mentioned in an earlier section, several screening tools, including the S-MAST, and CAGE are available to professionals. More helpful screening tools cover a range of typical screening questions.²²

Professionals also need to observe the behavior of the men in the batterers' groups. Tardiness, fatigue, aggression, or the smell of alcohol point to the need for formal alcohol assessment. These are some general guidelines a program can follow to identify clients who may be affected by alcohol or other drug use. These guidelines help establish a uniform base from which all program staff can work. It is helpful to observe the behavior of recovering alcoholics in the batterers' program because recovering men are often able to identify substance patterns in others.