48 empirical studies, over years of research: women, on average, initiate violence in intimate partnerships more than men when violence exists. There are a few studies that are outside this scope; however, the pattern is clear.

These findings are not new. They've been published from the 1970s, and repeated in study after study.

The arguments against viewing these rates at face value tend to be:

-They only count "low level" violence- slapping, shoving.

*When men slap or shove, it's never termed low level. It's termed what it is: domestic violence.

-Women are smaller and weaker, so their shoves and slaps cause less physical damage. For this reason, their shoves and slaps don't count.

*Relying on physical damage is a murky justification. First, it immediately discounts any emotional and psychological impact the man might have. Second, it misstates that men aren't harmed, physically, in IPV. Approximately a third of abused men experience severe physical harm. On the opposite, most abused women experience bruising, not severe harm. Third, it ignores the truth that IPV escalates. A slap today might not be just a slap tomorrow.

-She was defending herself/pushed to her limit/trapped by the patriarchal structure of the relationship.

*This is extremely dangerous to apply wholesale. As IPV is researched more, it's become clear the archetype controlling, abusive man DOES exist but is rarely the norm. Studies repeat that among both abusive men and women, most violence stems from anger, jealousy, and a desire to control the actions of their partner, singular: examples- don't break up. Don't talk to another person. It also removes the focus from the woman's actions and hyperfocuses on the victim.

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