Good practice

Norway's Alternativ til Vold (ATV) — Therapeutic Treatment Programme for Intimate Partner Violence Perpetrators

Europe's first therapeutic treatment centre for IPV perpetrators (Oslo, 1987), ATV now operates 15 offices in Norway. An NKVTS outcome study documents reduction in partner violence 1.5 years post-treatment; model adopted in Sweden, Iceland and Denmark.

Offices in Norway

Norway's Alternativ til Vold (ATV) — Therapeutic Treatment Programme for Intimate Partner Violence Perpetrators

Details

Maturity: Established
Promoter: Stiftelsen Alternativ til Vold
Period: 1987-present
Keywords: gender-based violence, domestic violence, intimate partner violence, perpetrator treatment, psychotherapy, victim support

Context

Norway's Alternativ til Vold (ATV), founded in Oslo in 1987, was Europe's first therapeutic treatment centre for perpetrators of intimate partner violence and now runs 15 offices nationwide.

Results

An NKVTS outcome study documents a reduction in partner violence about 1.5 years after treatment, and the model has been adopted in Sweden, Iceland and Denmark.

Implementation

Implementation detail (cost, timeline, staffing, conditions for success) is not yet available for this practice.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

C-NAPSE web research — accessed 2026-06-21
Stiftelsen Alternativ til Vold — accessed 2026-06-21
Stiftelsen ATV — English — accessed 2026-06-21
NKVTS — Characteristics of men in ATV treatment (process study) — accessed 2026-06-21
Norway National Action Plan Against Domestic Violence 2021-2024 (Frihet fra Vold) — accessed 2026-06-21

Attachments

Source image

Quality score: 96/100

How is this calculated?

Evidence: Observational / pre–post

Top 4% in this catalogue (719 scored practices)

Scores cluster high, so position within the catalogue is often more telling than the number alone.

Evaluation

Evaluated by C-NAPSE

Score profile — the dimensions behind the score — how it's computed

Transferability / replicability2/3

The ATV model has been formally replicated in Sweden (4 offices), Iceland (1 office), Denmark (Lev Uden Vold) and Austria (DVOTA), with documented methodology transfer across four countries.

Impact on gender equality1/1

An NKVTS-collaboration outcome study based on client and partner reports documents reduction in all forms of partner violence 1.5 years after treatment completion.

Effectiveness1/1

The NKVTS outcome study by Askeland, Birkeland, Lømo & Tjersland shows violence reduction among men completing the ATV treatment programme.

Efficiency1/1

~100 professionals across 15 offices deliver integrated services to perpetrators, victims and children simultaneously, avoiding fragmented case management.

Evaluated outcomes1/1

NKVTS (independent Norwegian government violence research centre) published a process study of 192 men in ATV treatment (2010–2011) and launched an RCT in 2023.

Sustainability1/1

Operating continuously since 1987 — 38 years — and formally embedded in Norway's 2021–2024 National Action Plan Against Domestic Violence (Frihet fra Vold).

Achievement / evidence1/1

15 offices and ~100 full-time professionals in Norway; model exported to four countries; designated primary referral pathway in Norwegian criminal justice.

Gender-mainstreaming embedding1/1

ATV explicitly frames intimate partner violence as a gendered phenomenon; feminist-informed psychotherapy addresses male perpetration and female victimisation as interlinked.

Curator validation1/1

Sources include NKVTS (independent government research institution), the Norwegian Ministry of Justice national action plan, and a Springer Nature reference-work entry.

Cite this

Evidoria. Norway's Alternativ til Vold (ATV) — Therapeutic Treatment Programme for Intimate Partner Violence Perpetrators. Persistent ID: 21400552-bd52-4877-98d0-48e9fd1299cf.

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