Men’s behaviour change programs (MBCPs) are a key component of Australia’s efforts to prevent male violence against women. Yet, both nationally and internationally, these programs have operated without a solid understanding of whether and when they are effective in changing behaviour, and for which men. A stronger evidence base is key to delivering and refining MBCPs so that the public, clients, the sector and funders can have confidence in their meaningful contribution to the goal of eliminating family violence.  The federation of Relationships Australia (RA) state and territory organisations deliver multiple MBCPs to thousands of men each year. 

This webinar highlights the outcomes of the first stage of a multi-stage research project, led by Relationships Australia Victoria (RAV) and Relationships Australia New South Wales (RA NSW) and conducted in partnership with the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS), to evaluate the efficacy of these MBCPs across the RA federation. 

The objective of this stage was to co-design a generalisable Theory of Change that can be used to evaluate diverse MBCP offerings and to support organisations in delivering these complex interventions.   Our presentation will begin with the challenges presented by variations in funding models, legislative contexts, group program configurations, and individual perpetrator and partner support. Despite this diversity, we will identify common aims, activities and mechanisms for change. We will also present the visual Theory of Change that has been developed, and discuss our next steps in building an evaluation framework aligned to this.