Are Women Just as Violent as Men?

In our debate we discussed whether women are just as violent as men. The pro side of the debate said yes women are just as violent as men, and the opposing side said men are more violent than women. In the yes side of the debate violence was described as physical and emotional assaults. As in violent acts carried out with the intention of causing another person physical pain or injury, no matter whether actual injury occurs, and any unjust, cruel act, or maltreatment of another human being. In the no side of the debate violence was just described as physical assaults, and not emotional assaults. This paper will discuss both sides of the debate, and the pros and cons of the arguments made by both sides.

The pro side of the debate used the introduction to mention the research they found that supports their claim that women are just as violent as men. Some facts that were found were that Straus and his colleagues carried out a survey to find what type of violence is carried out in family homes. One of the findings of Straus and his colleagues' national surveys was that women were evidently as likely to utilize violence in response to couple conflict as were men. A scale was used to interpret the findings of the survey. Results from the Conflict Tactics Scale, also known as CTS, used in the National Family Violence Surveys indicated that men and women are equally violent.This study was conducted in 1975, and was replicated in 1985, and both studies indicate almost perfect symmetry in the use of violence by men and women against their partners (Johnson, 1995). The symmetry of the two surveys helps to prove that women and men are equally violent, because it shows the scale to be reliable. Another piece of information the pro side disco...

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...at men should be strong and masculine. Also, police are less likely to arrest a woman for assault because of this stereotype which is another reason for under reporting. The articles that say men are more violent than women say women underreport violence, because they are ashamed. There are pros and cons to each of the arguments, and hopefully more research will be done, so there will be a more clear answer to who is more violent, a man or a woman.

Works Cited

Arriaga, X., & Oskamp, S. 1999. Violence in intimate partner relationships. Thousand Oaks, CA:

SAGE Publications.

Headey, B., Scott, D., & Vaus, D. 199. Domestic violence in Australia: are women and men equally violent? Australian Social Monitor 2: 57-62.

Michael P. Johnson. 1995. Patriarchal terrorism and common couple violence: Two forms of violence against women. Journal of Marriage and the Family 57.