Silverman emphasized that the women are not at fault.
“The behavior we need to prevent is that of the young men,” he said. “What we have tended to do is to ask, ‘What is wrong with these young women that they are involved with these abusive partners?’”
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Massachusetts is one of the first states to release guidelines for providing resources to deal with adolescent perpetrators and has ten pilot programs for violent boys, according to the research study.
“We’re basically way ahead of the curve. These programs are statewide, not just municipal initiatives,” Silverman said.