In the long run, the problem of DV cannot be solved without focus on both victims and perpetrators. Intervention involving abusers involves stopping the violence and dealing with the crisis of male identity. Batterers must be bluntly told that their actions are illegal and information about ways to end it should be provided.

These ways are: arrest, education, counseling, and temporary separation from the partner. One study found that over half of abusive men involved in a behavioral treatment program reported a positive outcome. After 20 years of research by the National Institute of Justice, findings on which form of intervention is most effective are inconclusive. Although arrest seems to lower the incidence of DV in most cases, especially in employed, white, married abusers, it escalates violence in some unemployed minority groups.