Abstract

Objectives: There is a need for innovative methodologies to establish the “true” prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) among men and women and throw additional light on the “gender symmetry” impasse. For almost 30 years, feminist researchers contend that national surveys are flawed due to nonresponse bias. Family violence researchers claim there is a clinical bias in feminist studies. The present study provides a new method to establish IPV prevalence rates. Methods: In one rural Midwest county, we collected IPV data from multiple county-wide criminal justice and social service data sources over a 2.5 year period. Using capture-recapture techniques, prevalence rates of IPV are derived by gender. Results: Using help-seeking data sources, we found the prevalence of reported male-on-female violence to be 17 times the rate of female-on-male violence. Conclusions: Innovative statistical techniques in violence research find a lack of gender symmetry in IPV help seeking. There are few venues for IPV-involved men to seek help outside of the criminal justice system.