Gender and the seriousness of assaults on intimate partners and other victims

We examine the ways in which assaults committed by male intimate partners are more serious than assaults committed by female partners and whether these differences reflect gender differences in offending and victimization generally. Analyses of the National Violence Against Women and Men Survey (N =6,480) show that, in general, gender effects do not depend on the victim's relationship to the offender. Regardless of their relationship (a) men cause more injuries; (b) women suffer more injuries although their injuries tend to be less severe; (c) victims are more fearful of male offenders but only if the offenders are unarmed; and (d) men are particularly likely to precipitate assaults by other men, not their female partners. Violent husbands do assault with particularly high frequency but so do women who assault family members.