1. a) Group activities shall focus on the following attitudes and behaviors:

   1. 1) Belief in egalitarian partnership;
   2. 2) Respect for equal rights;
   3. 3) Awareness that abuse is an intentional strategy designed to exert power and control over intimate partners;
   4. 4) Identification and appropriate expression of a full range of emotions;
   5. 5) Awareness of the financial costs on families and society (police, employers, courts) of intimate partner violence;
   6. 6) Empathy for the victim's experience;
   7. 7) Understanding the negative effects of the abuse on victims, children, abusers, the community and society as a whole;
   8. 8) Encouraging examination of life experiences and belief systems (e.g., family, community and culture) that have fostered choices for abusive behavior;
   9. 9) Nonabusive beliefs and choices; and
   10. 10) Acknowledgement and consideration of others' needs that are independent of abusers' needs.

2. b) Group activities shall challenge, among others, the following attitudes:

   1. 1) Justification of violence, such as revenge, retaliation, etc.;
   2. 2) Normalization of the violence;
   3. 3) Right/need to exert power and control over intimate partners;
   4. 4) Self-centered thinking;
   5. 5) Substance abuse and past victimization cause violent behavior;
   6. 6) Rigid sex-role stereotypes;
   7. 7) Aggression as a conflict resolution tool; and
   8. 8) Oppressive beliefs systems (e.g., sexism, racism, bias based on sexual orientation) that result in violent behavior.

The belief that men are superior to women and have the right to dominate them may be a principal contributor to partner abuse.