Hundreds of studies conducted in the United States have examined the nature and extent of domestic violence. For example, a U.S. Centers for Disease Control survey reported that among young adults, half of all partner aggression was mutual, and 71% of the instigators of nonreciprocal partner violence are female.
But what about partner aggression in other countries?
Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE) has just published a new Policy Briefing: What is the Profile of Domestic Violence Around the World? (
http://www.saveservices.org/policymakers/what-is-the-profile-of-domestic-violence-around-the-world/)
The briefing summarizes the findings from 6 community surveys of intimate partner aggression conducted in 38 countries throughout the world.
In 28 countries, female-initiated violence was the more typical pattern: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Great Britain, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Israel, Jordan, Lithuania, Malta, Mexico, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Romania, Singapore, South Africa, Swaziland, Switzerland, Taiwan, Russia, United States, and Zambia. In 4 countries, male-initiated violence was more common than female-initiated aggression: Greece, Portugal, Tanzania, and Venezuela. And in 4 countries, the violence rate between the sexes was found to be equal: Iran, Japan, Scotland, and Sweden.
These surveys lend further support to the conclusions from the meta-analysis by Dr. John Archer that "Women were slightly more likely than men to use one or more acts of physical aggression."
Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE)
P.O. Box 1221
Rockville, MD 20849
http://www.saveservices.org/[email protected]
