Symmetry in Self-Defense
Probably the most frequently argued difference in motives of women perpetrators
is the assertion that when women assault a partner it is usually an act of self~
defense. For example, the influential World Health Organization report on violence
states that "Where violence by women occurs it is more likely to be in the form of
self-defense (32, 37, 38)" (Krug, Dahlberg, Mercy, Zwi, & Lozano, 2002). However,
examination of references 32, 37, and 38 found that reference 32 (Saunders, 1986)
reports that 70% of the minor violence and 60% of the severe violence was not in self defense.
Reference 37 (Dekeseredy, Saunders, Schwartz, et aI., 1997) used a similar
method, and got similar results: 37% of the minor violence and 43% of the severe
violence was initiated by women. Reference 38 (Johnson & Ferraro, 2000) is a review
article that cites references 32 and 37 and does not report new empirical data. In
addition, neither of these studies had data on self-defense by men, so neither provide
a basis for concluding that violence by women differs from violence by men. Reference
37 (1997) does report data but they show that only 6.9% ofthe women acted in
self-defense.
At least six other studies report data on self-defense. Five of the six found that
only a small percentage of women's violence was in self~defense (Carrado, George,
Loxam, Jones, & Templar, 1996; Cascardi & Vivian, 1995; Felson & Messner, 1998;
Follingstad, Wright, Lloyd, & Sebastian, 1991; Pearson, 1997; Sarantakos, 1999;
Sommer, 1996). For the one study that found high rates of self-defense, the percentage
in self-defense was slightly greater for men (56%) than for women (42%)
(Harned,2001).
Rather than self-defense, the most usual motivations for violence by women, like the
motivations of men, are coercion, anger, and punishing misbehavior by their partner
(Cascardi & Vivian, 1995; Fiebert & Gonzalez, 1997; Kernsmith, 2005). For example,
Pearson (1997) reports that 90% of the women she studied assaulted their partner
because they were furious, jealous, or frustrated and not because they tried to defend
themselves. These motives are parallel to the motivations of men perpetrators. Research
on homicides by women shows similar results. For example, Jurik and Gregware (1989)
studied 24 women-perpetrated homicides and found that 60% had a previous criminal
record, 60% had initiated use of physical force, and 21% of the homicides were in response
to "prior abuse" or "threat of abuse/death."A larger study by Felson and Messner
(1998), drawing upon 2,058 partner homicide cases, determined that 46% ofthe women
perpetrators had previously been abused, but less than 10% had acted in self-defense.