Problem of Domestic Violence Has Been Exaggerated (From Violence: Opposing Viewpoints, P 137-142, 1996, David Bender, et al, eds. -- See NCJ-159343)

• NCJ Number: 159358
• Author(s): C Young
• Date Published: 1996
• Length: 6 pages
• Sale Source: Greenhaven Press
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Opposing Viewpoints Series

Annotation

The author argues that statistics used by advocates for battered women are sometimes inflated to make the problem of domestic violence more serious than it really is and that these advocates also ignore the incidence of female violence toward men.

Abstract

The National Crime Victimization Survey, conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, estimates the number of female victims of assaults by partners at about 470,000 yearly, thus contradicting reports of domestic assault rising from 2 to 4 million a year over the past decade. One study indicates that violence is the leading cause of injury to women between 15 and 44 years of age; this refers to all violence, not just violence by male partners. Media coverage tends to exaggerate the extent of domestic violence, and many ignore the fact that woman batter too. The author concludes that advocates for battered woman simply want to promote their view that American women are routinely terrorized by men who are intent on keeping them subjugated.