What is intimate partner violence (IPV)? Discuss the gendered differences in who is affected by IPV. Summarize the problems with the claims of some that intimate partner violence is much more “symmetrical” between genders than FBI and Department of

Question

Justice statistics show.

Please provide the best answer for the statement.

Answer 1

1. Intimate partner violence is violence between people who either are or were in a sexual or romantic relationship with one another.
2. The single greatest difference in rates of IPV is by gender. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, about 80 percent of all victims of domestic violence are women. The gender imbalance of intimate violence is staggering. Of those victims of violence who were injured by spouses or ex-spouses, women outnumber men by about five to one. Eight times as many women were injured by their boyfriends as men injured by girlfriends. And boyfriends and girlfriends are almost twice as likely as spouses to commit IPV and almost four times as likely as ex-spouses.
3. Claims that there is in fact “gender symmetry” in intimate partner violence rely on faulty data obtained using the “conflict tactics scale” (CTS). This scale has been found to omit many scenarios and very serious types of violence that are experienced more commonly by women (e.g., failure to distinguish between offensive and defensive violence, or omission of sexual aggression and marital rape).