About 200 adults, the vast majority of whom exhibit violent behaviours in the context of family and partner relationships, have so far turned to the "PROTEAS" counselling program operated by the Association for the Prevention and Treatment of Violence in the Family (SPAVO), on a nationwide basis for the last 5 years – since 2020 – the head of the program told "F", social worker Nektarios Kallonas.
With him in the interview, which took place in the area where the "PROTEAS" counselling center in Nicosia is housed, were the other officers of the team – the counselling psychologist Emily Takkidou, the psychotherapist Lavrentios Theofanous and the forensic psychologists Konstantinos Papanikolaou and Andrea Fotiou. Answering our question "to what extent the violent perpetrator can change", the scientific director of SPAVO, Dr. Andri Andronikou, stressed that "with a long-term and targeted intervention, the perpetrator is likely to make the right decision for the change, if he re-evaluates the situation and realizes his responsibility and its consequences, i.e. the impact of the violence he exercises". As N. Kallonas informed us, "within these 5 years, there has been an upward trend in the number of perpetrators of violence who seek help in controlling their anger, the majority of whom are Greek Cypriot men, but also people from other European countries and from third countries. We started – he added – in 2020 with 2-3 cases of perpetrators who completed the program and today we have 70 active cases in "PROTEA". I consider this very important, given that it is the only programme in Cyprus that deals with this issue. In addition to Nicosia, "PROTEAS" is housed in its own premises in Limassol and Larnaca, which also cover the districts of Paphos and Famagusta, respectively". Mr. Kallonas told us that the program is voluntary and lasts 2 years for each person. Of course," he added, "depending on the case, for some people it may last less and end, for example, in 6 months or one year." The National Support Line of "PROTEA" is the telephone number 1406.
Holding perpetrators accountable, protecting victims
The officials of "PROTEA" told us that the program "stems from the need for a holistic approach for the protection, safety and support of victims of domestic, gender-based and intimate partner violence. Its purpose is to enhance the safety of victims, reduce the risk, frequency and intensity of violence, while its goals are to take responsibility from the perpetrators, to understand the causal factors that lead them to violent behaviour, to recognize the effects of violence and to create incentives for change." They explained to us that the referral to the program is made by the Social Welfare Services, the Police, the State Health Services Organization (OHS), bodies, organizations, including non-governmental organizations, by judicial authorities and by self-referral.
Nektarios Kallonas stressed at this point that "in 2025 there is an increase in self-referrals of perpetrators to the program and for us it is a positive development. This means that more and more people recognize their difficulties and problematic behaviours and ask for help, either on their own initiative, or after being encouraged by third parties, after being informed of the existence of the program, even through modern technology, such as ChatGPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer), which is an artificial intelligence application that allows dialogue and answers (chatbot)".
Counselling and preventive actions
As the members of the scientific team of "PROTEA" underlined in "F", "the program provides individual and group counselling to perpetrators of violence and parallel support to victims. Admission criteria to the program are the absence of the influence of addictive substances during the meetings, the absence of dangerous self-destructive behaviours, the absence of serious psychiatric problems or active psychopathology and the absence of active suicidal ideation.
"PROTEA" serves perpetrators who come from all social and economic strata, from various nationalities, religious and cultural beliefs and educational levels. It also serves men – and fewer women – the largest percentage of whom use violence against children, as well as couples, who may have been referred to the program by state services because they used violence against their children."
Referring to the preventive actions of "PROTEA", they underlined that the program has been presented in recent years to many communities and organized groups, to pupils and students in schools and educational institutions, but also to National Guardsmen in many camps throughout free Cyprus, in cooperation with the Ministry of Defense and the leadership of the National Guard. It is noted that the "PROTEA" team collaborates with the European Network for the Work with Perpetrators of Domestic Violence (WWP EN), of which SPAVO is a member, as well as dozens of other active organizations from all over Europe.
The need for control and power...
The members of the multidisciplinary team of "PROTEA" described the profile and characteristics of violent spouses or partners as follows: "Some perpetrators recognize their actions and their negative effects, express regret, but almost always, repeat the abuse... Another category of perpetrators, they deny and do not admit the violence they exercise, while they put forward various excuses for their behaviour... When it comes to the characteristics of the perpetrators, some have low self-esteem, traditional perceptions of gender roles, lack of awareness of their actions, narcissistic-type personality disorder and high levels of anxiety. Some perpetrators have experiences of abuse, are pathologically jealous, are dependent on their partners, are unable to control their impulses, have limited socialization and adaptation, are addicted to legal and illegal substances and have a history of crime. Some common characteristics of perpetrators include a control and abusive behaviour plan, stereotypical perceptions of the traditional image of male superiority and the role of men in the family, and minimization of the impact of abuse on victims. The perpetrators feel the need for control and power and present high levels of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, lack of self-confidence and a sense of personal weakness, social maladaptability, lack of empathy, jealousy and suspicion...".
Perpetrators "build" stories that justify violence
"All perpetrators have a history that justifies violence," said the scientific director of SPAVO, Andri Andronikou. "Usually," he added, "they blame the victim for their own behaviour and reaction, others normalize or even minimize their violence and its effects, others attribute it to... circumstances (e.g., "I was drunk," "he cheated on me"), or even deny its existence. I think it is very important to be able to answer the question, "why do men use violence in the context of romantic, partner and marital relationships, but also more generally, why they violently target a woman, since no man has lost his life because... Is he a man?" If we were to ask any child what they would like to be when they grow up, surely no one would answer, that they would like to become a femicide, an abuser or a rapist, or that they dream of being imprisoned, or spending time in treatment programs, for the violence they practice. This is because young children are not infected by society's principles, upbringing, dogmas, or prejudices and beliefs.
On the other hand, there is a long-standing research activity on whether these criminals are born or created. That is, if there is a genetic predisposition. On the one hand, a genetic predisposition would perhaps be a mitigating factor in criminal proceedings, but on the other hand, if a person has this genetic predisposition, it potentially becomes more dangerous. This is because he has the personal and moral responsibility to deal with it, since this predisposition is a danger to public safety.
There is a lot of research on the subject, such as the variant of what is known as the "warrior gene", which explains problems of risky behaviour, aggression, gang membership, violent crime, etc., but research concludes that genetic predisposition does not have a strong explanatory power on its own. It is a fact that many law-abiding citizens have this gene. As with other complex behaviours, researchers are looking at the interaction of genetic and environmental factors. So far, such evidence has been introduced in the interest of the perpetrator, but it is not obvious why such a genetic factor would reduce individual responsibility. The dominant factor seems to be the type of environment in which these individuals grew up. We are also concerned with questions about whether there is a connection between a parent's actions and the effects they may have on their child – that is, whether criminal parents create criminal children. In fact, every traumatic experience in a family environment affects each child in different ways. Each child reacts differently to their childhood trauma and how it represses fear, anger or other emotions. Certainly, antisocial behaviour is easy to "teach" in environments with crime risk factors. So we would say through the experience of the field, that there is a correlation, but not causality."
Women are most at risk
The scientific director of SPAVO, Dr. Andri Andronikou, also observed the following: "As a society, experiencing extreme forms of violence against women, or other violent behaviours against women, we directly place the perpetrator, in the sphere of mental illness, so that we can "accept", at least mentally, what has happened. In reality, however, according to mental health research, these kinds of problems appear to account for only 5.3 percent of violent crimes. People with mental disorders tend to have a motivation that gives them meaning, regardless of whether it is driven by psychotic beliefs. Most violent perpetrators have no substantial motive. Mental illness is often used as a tool. However, we have historically recorded some women who have murdered their husbands, motivated by ending the ongoing violence, or even in self-defense. But the people most at risk are women, including older women and women with disabilities, as well as women from ethnic minorities, refugees and migrant women. Young girls, children and people from the LGBTQI+ community are also more at risk. That is why in our policies and interventions, the role of gender should be clearly emphasised, in relation to intersectionality, since there are discriminations on the basis of gender, race, religion and age. Within this, our society itself plays an important role, which "rewards" image, power, connections, economic power, social status, narcissism... At the same time, there are phenomena of violence, incidents of sexual abuse of children, the action of gangs and drug trafficking circuits, robberies, rapes and attacks on the streets, delinquency in schools, hate speech and racist behaviours that even lead to murders. However, it should be mentioned that at the same time, efforts are being made to improve serious social issues. The answer to the relevant question is that yes, all of us could become perpetrators, because when there are feelings of anger, fear, envy and hatred, then the other person is considered threatening, or a subordinate person who "deserves" to suffer. Clearly, however, there are many more reasons that stop this potential and which are linked to education, education, upbringing and other social and environmental stimuli."
ON THE OCCASION THE MAN WHO ASSUMED HIS RESPONSIBILITIES
In the case of a 40-year-old husband and father of three children, who, following the recommendation of the Social Welfare Services, joined the "PROTEAS" counselling program of the Association for the Prevention and Treatment of Violence in the Family (SPAVO), the head of the program, social worker Nektarios Kallonas. He told us from the beginning that on three occasions, he had exercised physical, verbal and psychological violence against his wife and in two of them, his children were also present. He told us that his priority in life was his work, where he felt enormous pressure, which he carried to his home. He found it very difficult to manage his anger. By decision of the court, provisional restrictive measures were taken against him. He left his home and lived alone. He was very formal in the program and in the meetings with the "PROTEAS" team.
He began to take responsibility for his violent outbursts, to understand the consequences of his actions towards his wife and children. By attending the program, he began to improve his behaviour, as he took advantage of the suggestions of the "PROTEA" consulting service. He developed communication skills with his family, but also in his work environment and honestly stated that he had regretted his violent acts, for which, as he admitted, there was no excuse. After a period of six months, his wife allowed him to see his children a few hours a week. His trial was then held and he was sentenced to two years in prison, with suspension. He stayed in the program for a year and was reunited with his family. In the latest feedback with the "PROTEA" team, he mentioned that he has changed his priorities, that he has set limits in his work and that he has distanced himself from people he believed were toxic and affected him negatively. He made his wife and children the center of his life, and in the year and a half that the program ended, there was no violent behaviour on his part, against anyone. He simply declares that he feels happy!"
