Men Are More Likely Than Women To Be Victims In Dating Violence [View all]

DURHAM, N.H. -- A 32-nation study of violence against dating partners by university partners found that about a third had been violent, and most incidents of partner violence involve violence by both the man and woman, according to Murray Straus, founder and co-director of the Family Research Laboratory at the University of New Hampshire. The second largest category was couples where the female partner was the only one to carry about physical attacks, not the male partner.

Straus’ new research also found that dominance by the female partner is even more closely related to violence by women than is male dominance. These results call into question the widely held belief that partner violence is primarily a male crime and that when women are violent it is self defense.

“In the 35 years since I began research on partner violence, I have seen my assumptions about prevalence and etiology contradicted by a mass of empirical evidence from my own research and from research by many others,” Straus said. “My view on partner violence now recognizes the overwhelming evidence that women assault their partners at about the same rate as men. However, when women are violent, the injury rate is lower.”

http://www.unh.edu/news/cj_nr/2006/may/em_060519male.cfm?type=n

I admit that for the longest time I assumed domestic violence was a predominately male affair. That's how it's portrayed and the crime stats certainly support that. But it's becoming apparent that it's a far more equal-opportunity crime than is popularly believed.

I think removing the stigma on men reporting abuse by their wives/girlfriends and working to get this acknowledged (like by changing the tone of domestic violence PSAs) represents a significant men's health issue.

Just my 2 cents.