ABSTRACT
This chapter draws attention towards the dynamic and interpretive aspects of perpetrator work. It builds on the notion that a focus on the content and design of programmes obscures the complex ways in which they are experienced by those attending them. Several theoretical tools are introduced which, it is argued, can be useful to develop an understanding of the way in which group dynamics impact on the experiences of men attending perpetrator programmes and thereby on their efficacy. Symbolic interactionism, critical thinking about gender and masculinity, and literature examining desistance are identified as being of particular value in understanding how group-based interventions take place. The term ‘gendered microecology’ is introduced to capture some of the complex and shifting dynamics which take place within group-based interventions.
