The role of gender in officially reported intimate partner abuse.
The role of gender in intimate partner abuse (IPA) perpetration and victimization has been debated for the last several decades. Two perspectives have emerged regarding this debate. Researchers from the family violence perspective argue that men and women are violent at near equal rates and call for a reframing of the issue from one of woman battering to one of family violence. In contrast, feminist researchers maintain that men make up the majority of perpetrators and women the majority of victims in cases of intimate partner abuse. While some have put forth arguments explaining these differences, this debate is far from over. Using official reported cases of IPA, this study examines 815 IPA cases of which 13% were female perpetrated in an attempt to clarify gender differences and similarities among male and female offenders beyond prevalence rates. Special attention is paid to contextual differences and similarities and implications this research has for future research and policy.
Department of Sociology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA. Heather.melton@soc.utah.edu
Heather C
HC
Melton
Carrie Lefeve
CL
Sillito
D018585:Battered Women / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D016495:Police; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012742:Sex Offenses / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States