Men as likely as women to suffer spousal abuse: Swedish study

Article here. Excerpt:

'In two related studies, researchers surveyed 1,400 Swedes about domestic violence and found that 8 to 11 percent of men reported being victims of physical violence at the hands of their spouse in the past year.

The corresponding figure for women was 8 percent.

"We were surprised by the results," professor Gunilla Krantz, who led the research, said in a statement.

"Both men and women use the kind of violence that can harm the other person. The concept that women use violence only in self-defense is not true – women are capable of using it aggressively as well."

The respondents mentioned behaviour ranging from punching, kicking and pushing to strangleholds and threats at gunpoint.

The study also revealed, however, that between 8 and 11 percent of male victims reported that they had also been perpetrators of violence and Krantz added that the results should be interpreted "with caution".

"We do not know in detail what led women to use violence in aggression," she explained.'