Women as Victims and Perpetrators of Violence: Empirical Results from National and International Quantitative Violence Research

• Published in: Women and Children as Victims and Offenders: Background, Prevention, Reintegration pp. 479 - 504
• Main Authors: Schröttle, Monika, Vogt, Kathrin
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing
• Subjects: Domestic Violence; Intimate Partner; Intimate Partner Violence; Sexual Violence; Violence Prevalence
• ISBN: 331908397X; 9783319083971
• DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-08398-8_18

National and international quantitative violence studies show that if women are the victims of physical, sexual and/or psychological violence, it is most often a case of domestic violence by intimate partners—in contrast to men, who are more often victims of violence in public spaces at the hands of persons known or unknown to them, particularly at a younger age, up to around 25–30. Both women and men are primarily victims of violence by male perpetrators. Women comparatively rarely act as perpetrators of severe violence. The present chapter deals with empirical findings on the extent, causes, backgrounds and consequences of violence against women from national and international empirical research particularly focusing on domestic violence. Furthermore, findings on perpetration of intimate partner violence are critically reflected upon. This includes considerations on the research method and its implications for data interpretation and future research. The chapter shows the value and effectiveness, as well as the limitations, of violence prevalence studies, data collection and data comparison from a methodological and gender-critical perspective.