The prevalence of Bi-Directional intimate partner violence reported by Portuguese men

Abstract

[Excerpt] 1. Introduction Despite the widespread debate on gender asymmetry (e.g., Dobash and Dobash, 2004; Hines and Douglas, 2010; Johnson, 1995; Straus, 2010), it is now widely recognized that both men and women can be perpetrators and victims of IPV (e.g., Capaldi et al., 2009; Dardis et al., 2015; Tillyer and Wright, 2014; Zverina et al., 2011). Controversy still exists regarding the relative proportions of violence suffered and perpetrated by men and by women. For example, when studies focus on crime statistics, women form the majority of victims (e.g., Brogden and Nijhar, 2004; RASI, 2017). However, international studies (e.g., Lövestad and Krantz, 2012; Randle and Graham, 2011) with community samples have found that men experience significant levels of IPV (e.g., Archer, 2000; Beel, 2013; Hines and Douglas, 2011; Lövestad and Krantz, 2012; Machado and Matos, 2012; Machado and Matos, 2014). In the US, community samples with adults in heterosexual relationships have shown that 25%–50% of victims are male (Hines and Douglas, 2011).[...]