Domestic and intimate partner violence is probably the issue I post about most on this page. Largely because it is so interesting and important to talk about, but also, it is home to some of the wildest, and most baseless claims around. Every day it seems like another set of handwaving occurs to obfuscate, minimise and detract from male victims. “Yes, well maybe there is gender parity in abuse rates, but men’s abuse is contextually different…” “Okay, well maybe they do share similar contexts too, but you’re forgetting about power and control...” “Ah, sure, power and control is just as much a motivator for abusive women as it is for men, but women are far more often killed...” “Oh, I guess if you include suicides as a result of abuse, the overall amount of deaths caused by partner violence isn’t that different…” So on, and so forth. And then comes the unavoidable cameo of professor Michael Johnson, his ‘typology of violence’ and his talk of “intimate partner terrorism” (previously called “patriarchal terrorism”). Johnson’s assertion is that men’s violence against women is substantively different, and whilst women are sometimes ‘situationally violent’, it is only men who use abuse to control a partner, aka ‘intimate terrorism’. But again, rather quickly you’ll find that Johnson’s early research leans heavily into samples taken from women in abuse shelters, and men in criminal court, and soon after that, you’ll find the same statistical sleight of hands as always. I am sure if you speak to women in a refuge, and abusive men in jail, you’ll get the results you want, but how useful are they to the general population? Yes. It seems so much research on partner violence is based on the political wants of those conducting it. Not about honestly exposing who’s doing what, why, and how, but about pushing an ideological agenda, and protecting funding. So, let’s take a look at the iconic claim from professor Johnson, and the all too overlooked weak links, and blind spots in his research… What do you think? ~ Source “Intimate Terrorism” and Gender Differences in Injury of Dating Partners by Male and Female University Students

2026-05-05