The Communicator:
A newsletter of Family Nonviolence, Inc.
Volume 3, number 7 August 2004

In this issue:

• Comparison of Intimate Partner Abuse
• Nonviolent Communication Workshop
• Family Nonviolence, Inc. In Action

When physicians, nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists, family counselors, educators, social workers, attorneys, judges, and law enforcement officers view domestic violence they are looking at the same phenomenon yet, because of different cognitive skills and personal and professional training and experience, they do not always see the same thing.

Criminal justice intervention concerning domestic violence is important and it is often absolutely necessary to frame some domestic violence interventions in a legal context. However, it is important to remember that the criminal and civil justice systems are adversarial and confrontational by nature. These two court systems place many, often against their will, into diametrically different positions. Many families seek solutions and solidarity, not only and always punitive criminal sanctions. Too often civil and criminal court solutions are based on legal precedent that lack compassion, morality, and ethics.

Domestic violence interventions must be positive and inclusive, not negative and exclusive. We must be willing to accept the beliefs of others while not relinquishing our individual beliefs. History documents that any belief system that proclaims it alone holds the ³ultimate truth² breeds intolerance and extremism. Remaining stuck at either end of any paradigm only serves to hinder a balanced and proper understanding of the issue.

Womenıs and Menıs Risk of Intimate Partner Violence

Ever since Murray Straus reported his controversial finding in 1977 that women are as violent as men toward their partners, social scientists have debated the relative risk of male-to-female and female-to-male intimate partner violence. On one side of the debate are those who argue women and men are equally victimized by their intimate partners. Evidence in support of this position comes primarily from surveys of married and cohabiting couples that ask respondents to self-report violent acts they have committed against their partners and violent acts they have sustained at the hands of their partners. On the other side of the debate are those who contend that women are at far greater risk of intimate partner violence than are men. Evidence in support of this position comes primarily from national crime surveys and police, hospital, court, and clinical and shelter sample surveys that show women are overwhelmingly the victims of partner violence.

Annual prevalence and incidence

Previous information on womenıs and menıs annual experiences with intimate partner violence comes from two main sources: the annual Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and the National Family Violence Survey (NFVS), which was first conducted in 1975 and subsequently re-conducted in 1985. Portions of the NFVS were also included in the 1992 National Alcohol and Family Violence Survey and a special component of the 1995 National Alcohol Survey.

Annual intimate partner victimization rates generated by the NCVS are substantially lower than those generated by the NVAW Survey. A BJS study that used 1996 NCVS and Federal Bureau of Investigation data‹which combined data on intimate partner murder, rape, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated and simple assault‹found that the annual rate of violent victimization by an intimate was 7.5 per 1,000 women age 12 and older and 1.4 per 1,000 men age 12 and older. In comparison, the NVAW Survey annual rate of forcible rape by an intimate was 3.2 per 1,000 women age 18 and older, while the NVAW Survey annual rate of physical assault by an intimate was 44.2 per 1,000 women age 18 and older and 31.5 per 1,000 men age 18 and older.

On the other hand, annual intimate partner violence prevalence estimates generated by the NFVS are substantially higher than those generated by the NVAW Survey. The 1975 and 1985 NFVS found that 11 to 12 percent of married/cohabiting women and 12 percent of married/cohabiting men were physically assaulted by an intimate partner annually. The 1992 National Alcohol Family Violence Survey, which included parts of the NFVS, found that approximately 1.9 percent of married/cohabiting women were severely assaulted by a male partner annually and approximately 4.5 percent of married/cohabiting men were severely assaulted by a female partner annually. The 1995 National Alcohol Survey, which also included parts of the NFVS, found that 5.2 to 13.6 percent of married/cohabiting couples experienced male-to-female partner violence annually and 6.2 to 18.2 percent of married/cohabiting couples experienced female-to-male intimate partner violence annually.

The NWAW survey also found women experience more chronic (average 6.9 physical assaults compared to 4.4 for men) and more serious injuries (41.5 percent for women compared to 19.9 percent for men). And the ratio of female homicide victims of an intimate compared to male victims is 3 to 1.

In comparison, the NVAW Survey found that only 1.3 percent of all women and 0.9 percent of all men were physically assaulted by any type of intimate partner annually. Moreover, the NVAW Survey uncovered similarly low rates of intimate partner violence when only responses from married/cohabiting respondents were considered. A recent study based on NVAW Survey data that focused specifically on physical assaults perpetrated by marital/cohabiting partners, and is therefore more directly comparable to NFVS findings, revealed that only 1.1 percent of married/cohabiting U.S. women and 0.6 percent of married/cohabiting U.S. men were physically assaulted by an intimate partner annually. The disparity in NFVS and NVAW Survey findings is particularly striking because both surveys used behaviorally specific questions included in the Conflict Tactics Scale to screen respondents for physical assault victimization.

Disparities in Survey Findings

In summary, it is possible that the manner in which screening questions are introduced and framed has more of an effect on intimate partner violence disclosure rates than does the overall context in which the survey is administered. Clearly, more research is needed to fully understand how methodological factors (such as the overall context in which a survey is administered, question introduction, and framing practices) affect research findings on intimate partner violence. - Richard L Davis The above data has been taken directly from The Full Report of the Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women at http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/nij/183781.pdf