(2 of 2)
Kempe's experience has taught him that the battering parent is basically not a monster. Cruelty seldom inspires the savage beatings he inflicts on his children. In his mind, he is punishing them, a right long granted by society to parents. The trouble is that he carries that right to extremes. Some specialists, among them Dr. David Gil, professor of social welfare at Brandeis University, take the arguable position that the extremist parent is essentially a product of his culture. "Millions of children are subjected to physical punishment every day," says Gil. "As long as society tolerates such assaults against children, you will have cases of abuse."
By focusing on the parent, however, Kempe's group has been remarkably successful in reducing those cases. The Kempe therapy supplies a surrogate parent—for the battering parent himself rather than his victim. This person's role is to overcome the parental feelings of rejection that lead to child beating. Sometimes he literally moves into the household, offering the much needed gift of uncritical attention. "It must be a very patient, listening type of care," says Kempe. Therapy is stopped only at the parent's request. As the need for it dwindles, the surrogate parents may find their role reduced to that of occasional confidante. The Kempe system has worked so well that among the 400 cases of battering parents treated, there have been no repeaters.