by Lois Lawrence

Created on: September 24, 2009   Last Updated: September 25, 2009

While arrest rates for domestic violence have long been far higher among men than among women, there are some who have claimed that the reason for that was more a reflection of reluctance by male victims to report incidents of abuse than an indicator of real differences between male and female aggressiveness as spousal conflict plays out.

Now, a new study by Marianne Hester at England's University of Bristol School for Policy Studies suggests that the issue is more complicated than that. After reviewing incident and arrest reports gathered over a six year period, Hester has concluded that in the context of domestic disputes men are far more likely than women to use physical violence, threats of violence, and harassment, and to damage the other party's property.

Women, on the other hand, were more likely to damage their own property. Women were also more likely than men to use a weapon during a domestic dispute, but the study went on to say that this was at times in order to stop further violence by their partners.

When women used weapons, it was more likely to be in cases where there were dual perpetrators. By contrast, when men used weapons, it tended to be in cases when they were the sole perpetrator.

According to the police reports studied, which covered a six-year period, in cases where there was a sole perpetrator of violence and the perpetrator was a man, the result was likely to be intense fear and control of partners. When women were the sole perpetrators it was more often the result of alcohol abuse or mental illness. In fact alcohol was a factor in the majority of incidents of violence by both genders.

The study also focused on the issue of repeat offenders. Ms. Hester concluded that where A there were dual perpetrators there were four times the number of repeat incidents compared to cases in which there had been a sole perpetrator. Of the cases studied, men were far more likely than women to have been involved in more than one incident. Some 82% of male offenders had more than one incident reported. One man in the study had offended 52 times. By contrast, only 38% of women recorded as perpetrators were involved in more than one incident.

Studies such as this can be invaluable in educating law enforcement, mental health, education and legal professionals including judges who must deal with the aftermath of domestic violence. It is also important that we educate the general public about the dynamics of domestic violence especially as it relates to the likelihood of violence becoming a continuing feature in a relationship where it has once occurred.

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