I was pretty skeptical about the figures, since they contradict what I usually hear on the media, so I did a little research. Here’s what I found:
(Sorry this is so US centric)
(I’ll also try to stay close to primary sources as possible)
(http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss6308a1.htm?s_cid=ss6308a1_e)
- the 12 months before taking the survey, an estimated 4.0% of women experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner
-an estimated 14.2% of women experienced some form of psychological aggression in the 12 months preceding the survey.
-*4,774,000 women have been victims of physical violence by intimate partner in the 12 months preceding the survey
-*17,091,000 women have been victims of psychological aggression by intimate partner in the 12 months preceding the survey
- the 12 months before taking the survey, an estimated 4.8% of men experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner
-an estimated 18.0% of men experienced some form of psychological aggression in the 12 months preceding the survey.
-*5,452,000 men have been victims of physical violence by intimate partner in the 12 months preceding the survey
-*20,471,000 men have been victims of psychological aggression by intimate partner in the 12 months preceding the survey
By the data presented by the Center for Disease Control, out of the estimate of 10,226,000 yearly victims of intimate partner violence, 53.3% of victims where male and 46.6% were female. As for psychological aggression, out of the estimate of 37,562,000 yearly victims, 54.4% were male and 45.5% were female. These statistics would support the claim made in the bottom left.
Now I couldn’t find a primary source for the 70% of DV is initiated by women, but here’s the facts that I found, which may have been interpreted by the people who made this poster:
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/glenn-sacks/researcher-says-womens-in_b_222746.html)
-Women who were in a battered women’s shelter, 67% of the women reported severe violence toward their partner in the past year.
This can be interpreted as “67% of violent couples with IPV is mutual”. But then again, primary sources and full data would be helpful to back up this claim.
But the one that is most interesting is:(http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/newsArticle.aspx?articleid=111137)(Another report analysis from the CDC)
-23.9% of relationships are violent
-50.3% of IPV is non-reciprocal and 49.7% is reciprocal (Reciprocal IPV= Mutual violence)
-70.7% of non-reciprocal IPV is initiated by women.
So summing up the numbers, it’s not that 70% of all DV is initiated by women, its that 70% of non-reciprocal DV is initiated by women. To go further would say that 49.7% of DV is mutual, 36.2% of DV is initiated by women, and 14.5% of DV is initiated by men
