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Perceptions of Female Perpetrators

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Perceptions of Female Offenders

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is often perceived as violence predominantly perpetrated by males against females. Reactions to hypothetical situations of identical acts of male and female IPV results in the perception of female violence as occurring less frequently, having less negative effect on the victim, and as being less problematic within a society. More generally, among professionals involved in providing legal and mental health services to couples, female violence is not viewed as a serious public issue compared to male-perpetrated IPV. Despite the prevalence of this perception of a gender asymmetry in IPV, a review of the available evidence suggests that females perpetrate IPV at least as often, if not more frequently, than males. Implications for current theories of IPV will be discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, c/o Dutton Lab, 2136 West Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6T 1Y7

    Katherine R. White & Donald G. Dutton

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  1. Katherine R. White
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  2. Donald G. Dutton
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Correspondence to Katherine R. White .

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  1. , Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, Franco Bldg 131, Reading, 19610, Pennsylvania, USA

    Brenda L. Russell

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White, K.R., Dutton, D.G. (2013). Perceptions of Female Perpetrators. In: Russell, B. (eds) Perceptions of Female Offenders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5871-5_7

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