Women's Use of Intimate Partner Violence against Men: Prevalence, Implications, and Consequences

Abstract

Evidence showing that women use intimate partner violence (IPV) against their male partners has existed since the 1970s when IPV was first systematically examined. This article discusses the various sources of prevalence rates of IPV by women against men, the dominant theoretical explanation for IPV in general, and its implications for female perpetrators and male victims in the social service and criminal justice systems, as well as the current evidence of the consequences of women's use of IPV to the men who sustain it. Finally, we discuss directions for future research, including our own study focusing on men who sustain IPV.

KEYWORDS:

• domestic violence
• female perpetrators
• male victims
• mental health

Notes

¹ Rates of IPV-related deaths, however, have been declining for both genders. In 1976, 1,357 men and 1,600 women were killed by intimate partners, whereas in 2001, 440 men and 1,247 women were killed by an intimate partner (Rennison, 2003).