Domestic Abuse Intervention Programs (DAIP)

05/28/2026

“Anyone can experience domestic abuse or sexual violence. The way it happens to women who have Learning Disabilities and/or who are Neurodivergent is different.”

The DIVAS are volunteer survivors with learning disabilities and/or are autistic/neurodivergent based at The Women’s Centre in Cornwall, UK. They worked as a team with Penni Charteress, Service Lead, for the DIVAS Project, to create an important adaptation of DAIP’s original Power and Control Wheel. Together, they explored each segment of the original Power and Control Wheel, reflected on their own experiences, and identified the best words to use that ensured they understood the examples. The DAIP-approved adapted wheel offers a necessary starting point for organizations and institutions to better understand the experiences of survivors with learning disabilities and/or are autistic/neurodivergent. To learn more, go to: https://www.theduluthmodel.org/wheel-gallery/

05/13/2026

‼️‼️📣🕑 URGENT CALL TO ACTION:

Time is running short to pass laws in Minnesota. We need YOUR support to ensure that the legislature passes, and the Governor signs, critical legislation to support crime victims’ services. Act NOW, survivors cannot wait!

Email the Office of Governor Tim Walz and Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan: https://mn.gov/governor/connect/contact-us/contact-form.jsp

05/01/2026

We remember Joshua Robert Downey, the seventh confirmed victim of domestic violence-related homicide in Minnesota in 2026.

Joshua Robert Downey was the Parks Supervisor for Blue Earth County. His colleagues said he “cared very deeply for the parks.” Joshua was described by loved ones as “a devoted dad, a hard worker, and a genuinely kind person” who “above all else, loved his children...His greatest joy in life was being their dad.” He leaves behind two children.

Learn more here: https://www.vfmn.org/we-remember-2026

GoFundMe to honor Joshua and support his children: https://gofund.me/536c351bc

04/22/2026

“Liberation begins with dialogue to bring the complex realities of oppression out into the open.”

Brazilian educator Paulo Freire shared this approach with DAIP in the development of the Power and Control Wheel and Equality Wheel. We bring this guidance and decades of knowledge and experience to our work with folks worldwide who seek to adapt The Power and Control Wheel and Equality Wheel.

We’re honored to share the newest adaptation—developed through extensive consultation with South Asian women in India, Pakistan, and the United Kingdom—which illustrates pre-marital and pre-union economic control within South Asian contexts, led by Dr. Punita Chowbey, Sheffield Hallam University. Find this and more at: https://www.theduluthmodel.org/wheels/

“This wheel is a tool for recognising hidden forms of abuse before marriage or union. It is intended to raise awareness—not to reinforce cultural stereotypes.”

04/16/2026

Secure your seat for upcoming virtual training from DAIP!

Addressing Women's Use of Violence, May 5-7, 2026
Creating a Process of Change for Men Who Batter, May 19-21, 2026
Domestic Violence 101, June 11, 2026

https://sh1.sendinblue.com/3g3eegzkn0lpfe.html?t=1776377091

03/24/2026

Did you know? Early DAIP organizers, led by Dr. Ellen Pence, began with a simple but powerful question to domestic violence survivors in Duluth, Minnesota: “What do you want us to do with your partners to make your life better?”

Listening closely, survivors described ongoing patterns of violence and control in their intimate relationships and a desire for someone to intervene. These conversations became the foundation for the first survivor‑informed men’s nonviolence curriculum—Creating a Process of Change for Men Who Batter—and led to the development of the original Power and Control Wheel and Equality Wheel.

Today, these tools continue to resonate with survivors around the world. DAIP works in partnership with others to ensure all adaptations honor their original intent through survivor‑led input, transparency, and approval. Check out DAIP’s Wheel Information Center to learn more: https://www.theduluthmodel.org/wheels/

03/23/2026

I was raised by a single mother. My father was abusive and an alcoholic. He died when he was drunk in a car accident, killing himself and an innocent woman, and injuring another, I was lucky not to be in the car with him that fatal day.

Growing up, many of my friends were raised by single mums too. It’s striking how children in similar circumstances find each other, not by accident, but by shared experiences.

What always stood out wasn’t just the struggle, it was the question people asked.

Why is she a single mother?
Not: why did he leave?

The focus was always on the woman. Her choices. Her life. Her supposed failures.
Rarely on the man who was absent, who abandoned responsibility, who faced no real consequences.

Single mothers carry the weight. Fathers disappear and society looks the other way.

Like so many men, they go on to build another life, another family, with little scrutiny and even less accountability.

It’s a double standard.

On single parenthood day, let’s remember the single mums doing it all!

03/12/2026

We remember Ashley Kittelson, the third confirmed victim of intimate partner homicide in Minnesota in 2026.

Ashley Kittelson was described as “a devoted mother of three young children, a compassionate nurse, and a friend to so many. Anyone who knew her knew the warmth, kindness, and generosity she carried in her heart.” Loved ones shared that she dedicated her life to caring for others. We remember Ashley Kittelson.

Learn more here: https://www.vfmn.org/we-remember-2026

GoFundMe for Ashley's children and family: https://gofund.me/02fb29275

03/11/2026

An International Falls nurse was the victim in an apparent murder-suicide last week, with her killer believed to be her estranged husband.

Details: https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-news/woman-killed-in-international-falls-murder-suicide-was-mom-of-three

02/27/2026

Registration is open for more virtual training from DAIP!

March 17-19: Creating a Process of Change for Men Who Batter - A virtual training for domestic violence intervention programs and facilitators of men’s non-violence groups

May 5-7: Addressing Women’s Use of Violence - A virtual training on effective interventions and programs that address women’s use of violence

May 19-21: Creating a Process of Change for Men Who Batter - A virtual training for domestic violence intervention programs and facilitators of men’s non-violence groups

June 11: Domestic Violence 101 - A virtual training to increase effectiveness in responding to domestic violence cases

Learn more about all of these events at:

What is the Duluth Model? Since the early 1980s, Duluth—a small community in northern Minnesota— has been an innovator of ways to hold batterers accountable and keep victims safe. The “Duluth Model” is an ever-evolving way of thinking about how a community works together to end domestic viol...