British professor John Archer of the University of Central Lancashire looked at 17 studies of domestic violence from the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom published over the last 20 years. He found that men were just as likely as women to be victims of domestic violence.
In presenting his results at a meeting of the British Psychological Society, however, Archer also pointed out that in domestic violence incidents that involved injuries, only 38 percent were men compared to 62 percent women.
Archer told Reuters,
The expectation I had was that it was going to be overwhelmingly the women who got injured. Given that they are more likely to be injured, why is it that they engage in acts of aggression with their partners?
…
Women might think they can get away with this kind of abuse because the men who are the victims are not taken seriously. They are seen as ‘whimpish’ and are ridiculed. Men are supposed to put up with a little bit of injury.
Archer will publish a report on his research later this year in the American Psychological Association’s Psychological Bulletin.
Source:
Men face abuse as often as women: UK researcher. Reuters Health, April 5, 2002.