Male and Female Perceptions of Domestic Violence Survey, 1997

Attitudes and Beliefs About Domestic Violence Survey Highlights

• Nearly 90% of men and women (86% of men and 88% of women) say it is the responsibility of men to try to prevent or stop others from abusing women.
• More than three-quarters (77%) of the American public describe domestic violence against women as one of the major problems facing our country.
• Men and women don't see eye-to-eye on the scope of domestic violence; 85% of women consider it a major problem versus only 69% of men.
• More than half (56%) of Americans say they have at least one friend, relative or co-worker who they know has been involved in domestic violence—either a woman who has been a victim or a man who they feel has been guilty of it.
• Men are less certain than women about whether psychological control is considered abusive. Women are more likely than men (51% versus 33%) to say that they would definitely include "telling her what clothes she can or cannot wear" and "refusing to give her money when she asks for it or needs it" (37% versus 24%) in their definitions of domestic abuse.
• 73% of people (78% of women and 67% of men) "definitely" define a man's preventing his wife or girlfriend from seeing her friends and family as abusive.
• 81% of people (85% of women and 75% of men) say that a man cursing at or verbally insulting his wife or girlfriend in front of others is definitely abuse.
• Nearly one-third of the public (31%) correctly estimate the number of women affected by domestic violence as about one out of four, but over one-third admit (37%) that they don't know enough about the issue to estimate.
• The majority of Americans surveyed say they would try to talk to someone involved in domestic violence. 70% of women versus only 51% of men would try to help by talking to a woman they believe is being abused. Men, on the other hand, are much more likely to talk to a man they believe is guilty of abuse. One third (33%) of all Americans have already tried to talk to a man they believed to be guilty of abusing his wife or girlfriend.