Why Women Physically Attack Husbands at about the Same Rate as Men Attack Wives

EMBARGO Do not release until Saturday, Feb 28 February 26, 1998

Contact: Carmelle Druchniak
Email: [email protected]

UNH RESEARCHER EXPLAINS WHY WOMEN PHYSICALLY ATTACK HUSBANDS AT ABOUT THE SAME RATE AS MEN ATTACK WIVES

Also finds society more tolerant of women assaulting mates

DURHAM, N.H. -- Twenty years ago, noted family violence researcher Murray Straus was "excommunicated as a feminist" by those disagreeing with his finding that women physically assaulted their husbands just as often as men assaulted their wives.

Since then, there have been more than 100 other studies that looked into this question by asking people about conflicts in their marriage, or their dating or cohabiting relationships. According to Straus, co-director of the University of New Hampshire Family Research Laboratory, "every one of these 'couple conflict' studies have found about equal rates of partner assault." So, the controversy sparked by Straus largely died out.

However, at the 15th annual Claremont College Symposium on Applied Social Psychology Feb. 28, Straus will explain that the controversy has been revived by a 1997 study sponsored by the National Institute of Justice and the Centers for Diseases Control. This study found that men physically assaulted their female partners at three times the rate at which women engaged in such behavior. In addition, two other major sources of data -- police records and the National Crime Victimization Survey -- have found that men commit almost all partner assaults.

"I think the studies finding that men predominate are wrong," said Straus before his symposium address, "and I can explain what went wrong in those studies. If they are wrong, it is even more important to explain why, at home, women are so violent, whereas outside the family, women are much less violent than men."

Straus believes that the main reason some studies find lower rates of assault by women is because they are studies of "crime." Is it a crime?

"The difficulty with a 'crime survey' is that most people consider being slapped or kicked by their partner wrong or horrible, but not a 'crime' in the legal sense," says Straus. "So, many just don't think of telling a crime survey interviewer about it." As a result, crime studies find only a fraction of the number of domestic assaults that turn up in couple conflict studies.

Straus believes another result is that assaults by women are under-reported much more than assaults by men are under-reported, and that this is what produces the difference between men and women in crime studies, but not in couple conflict studies.

"For example, being injured to the point of needing medical care is one of the things that makes it enough of a 'real crime' to tell a National Crime Survey interviewer about it, or to make it scary enough to call police," says Straus.

Men on average are bigger and stronger than women, so assaults by men are more likely to result in injury. Therefore, an assault by a man is also more likely to result in a -MORE- UNH researcher on women assault rates -- page 3 police call, and more likely to be in the National Crime Victimization Survey.

"In addition," Straus explains, "although both men and women are likely to be ashamed of being hit by a partner, many men are even more ashamed, because they feel it shows them to be a wimp. For still other men, including many police, attacks by a women on her husband are often considered a joke."

It's no laughing matter, Straus points out. In fact, he thinks that seemingly harmless assaults by women are a major problem.

"One of main reasons 'minor' assaults by women, such as slapping, kicking and throwing objects, are such an important problem is that, sooner or later, they put women in danger of much more severe retaliation by men. A marriage license shouldn't be a hitting license for either party," he says.

Straus acknowledges that crime surveys and police reports provide vital information on partner assaults that exceed a certain threshold of seriousness. However, he adds, couple conflict surveys can provide a deeper understanding of partner violence in the general population, an understanding that can help prevent domestic violence before it escalates to an entry on a police blotter. Hurting the ones you love

As for the reasons why the rate of assault on partners is similar for men and women, Straus says, "like most things in life, it has multiple causes." One of the most important is that the norms or expectations about violence are different for men and women, and different for behavior inside and outside the family.

Physical assaults by women outside the family are considered "unfeminine," but are expected and lauded under certain circumstances if the victim is a husband or male partner.

"Millions of young women have been told, 'If he gets fresh, slap him,' rather than, 'If he gets fresh, leave immediately,'" says Straus. "In fact, slapping a man who does or -OVER- UNH researcher on women assault rates -- page 4 says something outrageous is often seen as the height of femininity. Examples can be seen every day on television and in films."

The most direct evidence of the norm permitting assaults by women against male partners comes from a survey for the Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence done in the 1960s and replicated by Straus and his colleagues in 1985, 1992 and 1995.

In 1968, just over one in five American adults (22 percent) believed there are circumstances when it is permissible for a wife to slap her husband's face. That percentage has remained the same through subsequent surveys. The percentage approving a husband slapping his wife was slightly lower in 1968 (20 percent), but declined to half that by 1995.

"Society is becoming less tolerant of violence by husbands," Straus concludes, "but continues to see the same violent behavior if done by a wife as acceptable or a joke."

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