Comparison of Abuse Alleged by Same- and Opposite-Gender Litigants as Cited in Requests for Abuse Prevention Orders

• NCJ Number: 206300
• Journal: Journal of Family Violence Volume: 19 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2004 Pages: 59-68
• Author(s): Steve Basile
• Date Published: February 2004
• Length: 10 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study of a sample of domestic-violence protection orders issued in Massachusetts' Gardner District Court in 1997 focused on gender differences in the levels and types of domestic violence alleged by plaintiffs who requested protection in domestic violence disputes.

Abstract

Based on the findings of Klein (1994), the study hypothesized that females would seek protection from the courts in much greater numbers than males. It was also hypothesized that there would be gender differences in the type of violence alleged in the complaints, even if there were no reliable gender differences in the overall levels of violence. A total of 382 cases were examined. Of those seeking protection orders for domestic violence, 81 percent were female, and 19 percent were male. The affidavit analysis found that both male and female defendants were major aggressors when measured against the Psychological Aggression and Physical Assault Conflict Tactics Scales. Although not statistically significant, females were more psychologically and physically aggressive than men, especially when comparing cases that involved same-gender litigants. Sexual aggression was rare and only committed by male defendants; however, victims (plaintiffs) were both male and female in sexual abuse cases. Psychological aggression was highest in female-female relationships. Females were also more aggressive in opposite-gender relationships, with an assault rate of 1.47 compared to 1.31 for their male counterparts. This study advises that allegations obtained from those requesting protection orders should be considered approximations of male and female domestic violence. Although women were found to be significantly less likely than men to pose a psychological and physical threat to their intimate partners, the women who were perceived to pose such a threat were alleged to have engaged in abuse equal to and even exceeding that alleged against men. This suggests that more attention should be given the female batterer and her victims. 6 tables and 28 references