NCJ Number
176513
Date Published
1997
Length
211 pages
Annotation
After reviewing statistical evidence of the prevalence of the physical abuse of husbands by their wives, this book presents the stories of abused men, followed by guidelines for treatment and prevention.
Abstract
A review of the statistical evidence for husband abuse encompasses police reports, hospital surveys, a military survey, shelter surveys, and general population and national surveys. Based on this evidence, the author estimates that two million men a year in the United States are seriously assaulted by their mates, as are 1.8 million women. In other words, 3.8 percent of American husbands, or 1 out of 26, severely attack their wives, and 4.6 percent of wives, or 1 out of 22, severely attack their husbands. In their assaults, women are more likely than men to use weapons, particularly knives. Attention is given to female murderers, the pitfalls of a focus on injuries in assessing the problem, the hidden costs of domestic violence, and the economic and emotional dynamics that influence men to stay in abusive situations. In the second chapter of the book, several abused men tell their stories of abuse and how they coped with it. These experiences are then put in the context of what therapists and others who have worked with such men know about domestic violence and how the male victim is similar to, yet different from, his female counterpart. After examining the reasons why so little is known about male abuse and the difficulties researchers encounter, the author suggests how the abused man, his friends and family, and the abusive (or abused) woman can come to grips with domestic violence. Drawing from a variety of sources, the book brings these diverse elements together to propose practical solutions for reducing domestic violence, whether its victims are male or female. A 10-item selected bibliography, descriptions of selected resources, and a subject index