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© 2008 American Public Health Association
DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2007.125765
LETTER |
The author is with the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, Yale University School of Public Health, New Haven, Conn.
Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Elizabeth Reed, ScD, Yale University School of Public Health, Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, 135 College St, Suite 200, New Haven, CT 06510 (e-mail: elizabeth.reed{at}yale.edu).
Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been widely examined through a framework that is based on male-perpetrated violence against women. However, recent studies, including a study published in the Journal, have initiated focus on female perpetration of IPV against male partners.1–3 The majority of such studies have not identified a framework for understanding this phenomenon. Given that a framework is needed for further progress in this arena, I defend a framework that recognizes IPV as a form of gender-based violence.
Existing research on this topic demonstrates that IPV became recognized initially as a critical threat to the health of society because of the severity of consequences among female victims1,3–8 and the high prevalence of male-perpetrated IPV victimization among women in the United States and abroad.4,9 By contrast, no evidence has demonstrated that female-perpetrated violence against male partners has been a threat to the health of populations of men. Additionally, studies that have compared the prevalence of female-and male-perpetrated violence against partners have had various limitations—namely, that male-perpetrated violence against female partners is highly stigmatized and likely underreported and not comparable to violence perpetrated by women against their male partners. Further, unlike male-perpetrated IPV against female partners, which has been linked to assertion of male control and is likely rooted in gender inequalities,10 female-perpetrated violence against intimate male partners has often been documented to be more likely a result of self-defense or poor conflict management in relationships.3 With the exception of self-defense, female perpetration of violence against male partners is likely more closely related to other forms of non–gender specific unhealthy relationship behavior and is not likely a major concern for the field of public health.
Such recent focus on female IPV perpetration may be a result of IPV measures that have often been limited to items assessing only physical violence (often including measures such as "hitting or slapping" a partner); such items lack specificity to capture other core elements of IPV (e.g., control, patterning of abuse, intimidation). In future studies, IPV may need to be better distinguished by using data measures and interpretation that parallel an adopted framework, preferably a framework that considers IPV within the scope of gender-based violence.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Jay Silverman from the Harvard University School of Public Health for his support in the production of this letter.
Accepted for publication September 8, 2007.
References
1. Whitaker DJ, Haileyesus T, Swahn M, Saltzman LS. Differences in frequency of violence and reported injury between relationships with reciprocal and nonreciprocal intimate partner violence. Am J Public Health. 2007;97:941–947.
2. Stuart GL, Meehan JC, Moore TM, Morean M, Hellmuth J, Follansbee K. Examining a conceptual framework of intimate partner violence in men and women arrested for domestic violence. J Stud Alcohol. 2006;67:102–112.[Web of Science][Medline]
3. Stuart GL, Moore TM, Gordon KC, Hellmuth JC, Ramsey SE, Kahler CW. Reasons for intimate partner violence perpetration among arrested women. Violence Against Women. 2006;12:609–621.
4. Silverman J, Raj A, Mucci LA, Hathaway J. Dating violence against adolescent girls and associated substance use, unhealthy weight control, sexual risk behavior, pregnancy, and suicidality. JAMA. 2001;286: 572–578.
5. El-Bassel N, Gilbert L, Witte S, et al. Intimate partner violence and substance abuse among minority women receiving care from an inner-city emergency department. Womens Health Issues. 2003;13:16–22.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]
6. Coker AL, Davis KE, Arias I, et al. Physical and mental health effects of intimate partner violence for men and women. Am J Prev Med. 2002;23: 260–268.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]
7. Ruiz-Perez I, Plazaola-Castano J. Intimate partner violence and mental health consequences in women attending family practice in Spain. Psychosom Med. 2005;67:791–797.
8. Varma D, Chandra PS, Thomas T, Carey MP. Intimate partner violence and sexual coercion among pregnant women in India: relationship with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. J Affect Disord. 2007;102(1–3):227–235.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]
9. Tjaden P, Thoennes N. Extent, Nature and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence: Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice; 2000. Publication NCJ 181867.
10. Santana MC, Raj A, Decker MR, La Marche A, Silverman JG. Masculine gender roles associated with increased sexual risk and intimate partner violence perpetration among young adult men. J Urban Health. 2006;83:575–585.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]
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