Surge of Female-Perpetrated Domestic Violence Spotlights International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Men

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Mike Buchanan

Telephone: +44 7967 026163

Surge of Female-Perpetrated Domestic Violence Spotlights International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Men

November 6, 2023 – Lawmakers around the world are becoming alarmed over the growing numbers of women who engage in domestic violence. This trend underscores the importance of the upcoming International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Men, to be observed on November 17.

Regarding homicides, six incidents of mothers who killed their ex-husbands to gain child custody have been reported thus far in the United States in 2023. The most recent report happened on September 28 when a jury convicted Vanessa Valdiglesias after she told her minor son, S.G., that he could be with her “forever” if he poisoned his father (1).

In the past week alone, a string of domestic homicides by women in three countries further reveals the scope of the problem:

November 1: Ina Thea Kenoyer reportedly poisoned her boyfriend of 10 years with antifreeze in order to get his $30 million inheritance (2).

November 2: Kaitlin Armstrong allegedly shot love interest Anna Moriah Wilson twice in the head, then waited 45 seconds before piercing her heart. Following a 43-day search, Armstrong was detained by police in Costa Rica (3).

November 4: Police arrested a Spanish woman as the alleged perpetrator of attempted murder, for running over her ex-boyfriend’s current partner (4).

For decades, domestic violence studies reported similar numbers of men and women engaged in domestic violence (5). For example, one summary of over 340 investigations in 40 countries concluded, “women are as physically aggressive as men (or more) in their relationships with their spouses or opposite-sex partners.” (6)

But recently, researchers have documented a disturbing increase in incidents of female-perpetrated domestic violence:

Australia: A 2022 survey of over 5,000 adolescents found that 23% of females and 14% of males reported they had ever perpetrated some form of abuse against a family member (7).
Europe: A recent 15-country study found that 7.2% of males, compared to 5.4% of females, had been physically victimized since they started working or studying at their institution (8).
United States: A national survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control in 2016-2017 found that each year, 6.5 million men and 5.7 million women are victims of partner violence (9).

But inexplicably, UN Women refuses to acknowledge the existence of female-perpetrated abuse (10). That, despite the fact that domestic violence in lesbian same-sex relationships is known to be particularly high (11).

On Friday, November 17 the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Men will be observed. The observance will feature social media activities and events held in countries around the world. For more information, visit: https://endtodv.org/coalitions/davia/campaigns/idevam/

The Domestic Abuse and Violence International Alliance – DAVIA — consists of 110 member organizations from 33 countries in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and North America. DAVIA seeks to ensure that domestic violence and abuse polices are science-based, family-affirming, and gender-inclusive. https://endtodv.org/coalitions/davia/

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