title: 'Woman bites dog'--making sense of media and research reports that claim women and men are equally violent.
abstract: The media are quick to exploit research reports that appear to show women and men are equally violent. Unfortunately, while such reports contradict the observations of experienced medical workers, police, court personnel, and Women's Refuge workers, they do influence public perceptions and may undermine policies designed to prevent and reduce male partner violence against women. This article examines research claims of women's equivalent violence and explains why study outcomes claiming equal violence must not be accepted at face value.
authors.affiliation: geewiz@ihug.co.nz
authors.forename: Janice
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Giles
mesh_terms: D035841:Behavioral Research / Q000639:trends*; D015982:Bias; D017579:Domestic Violence / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008402:Mass Media / Q000639:trends*; D009042:Motivation; D009520:New Zealand / Q000453:epidemiology; D011209:Power, Psychological; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011581:Psychological Tests; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012938:Social Perception