Massachusetts New

Who Says, 'Men Are More Violent?'

Massachusetts News, Inc., January 2001

It is becoming increasingly clear that women are just as violent as men.

For example, in 1999 a Justice Department report supported data from 1980 which showed that wives hit their husbands at least as often as husbands hit their wives.

The liberal Mother Jones magazine reported the story this way: “A surprising fact has turned up in the grimly familiar world of domestic violence: Women report using violence in their relationships Read More ..ten than men. This is not a crack by some antifeminist cad; the information will soon be published by the Justice Department…”

The study was by Terrie Moffitt, a University of Wisconsin psychology professor. When it was first released, it was so controversial that some of the researchers received death threats.

Mother Jones reported, “In light of the persistence of domestic violence, researchers are beginning to consider a broader range of data, including the possible significance of women' s violence. This willingness to pay attention to what was once considered reactionary nonsense signals a fundamental conceptual shift in how domestic violence is being studied.”

Women Three Times More Violent
A 1999 study in Canada shows that women are just as violent to their spouses and almost three times Read More .. likely to initiate violence in a relationship.

Even though the data was from a 1987 survey, the answers from the women were never published until 1999. Instead, just the men' s answers were published and they were used by feminist groups as evidence of the epidemic of violence against women, according to the National Post. This led to a two-year, $10-million national inquiry into violence against women. There were 494 recommendations aimed at changing attitudes in governments, police departments, courts, hospitals and churches.

A University of Calgary sociologist, Eugen Lupri, told the Post, “It happens all the time. People only tell one half of the story.” He reported that his research shows similar patterns of violence against men.

The new survey was by Marilyn Kwong, Simon Fraser University.