Males equally at risk of partner violence, but media bias persists         

[JULY 10, 2006]  ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control released a study May 22 that reveals teenage males and females are equally at risk of suffering from dating violence. The survey found that 8.9 percent of boys and 8.8 percent of girls had suffered from partner aggression during the previous year.

The nationally-representative survey was conducted in 2003 on almost 15,000 students in grades 7-12. The survey defines dating violence as hitting, slapping or physically hurting the partner on purpose. The study findings were published in the May 19 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Review.

The CDC study confirms over 100 previous studies that have found females are equally as likely as males to engage in domestic violence: www.csulb.edu/~mfiebert/assault.htm.

Despite those consistent findings, the media often misreport the issue. Some media outlets inexplicably claim that women represent 85 percent of all abuse victims. A May 17 editorial, "Teen dating violence," in the Contra Costa (Calif.) Times reported an even higher figure: "In male-female relationships, 95 percent of the victims are the girls."

But media coverage of the domestic violence story is increasingly balanced and accurate.

An April 6 CNN story, "The other face of domestic violence," highlighted male victims of domestic violence. A May 12 article in The Washington Times, "Family violence soars," noted that female-to-male violence accounted for 18.2 percent of all violence between married and co-habiting couples, while male-to-female violence represented only 13.7 percent of all violence.

"Partner aggression is an important concern in our society," notes Richard Davis, spokesman for Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting. "Reporting the domestic violence story without bias or ideological blinders will be the first step in solving the problem."

[Provided by Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting]