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The Impact of the Gender Differences Controversy on Female-Specific Physical Dating Violence Prevention Programming

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Abstract

Clear evidence indicates that college women perpetrate physical dating violence at rates similar to or higher than men. However, programs focused on preventing physical dating violence perpetration by women are scarce. We propose that the misperception that physical perpetration is a male-dominated problem contributes to this lack of emphasis on preventing women’s physical violence. We believe that failing to focus on programming that targets women’s perpetration further contributes to the misperception that men are the primary perpetrators of violence and limits our prevention efforts. We suggest possible solutions to address this misperception and aid in the implementation of female-inclusive violence programming.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported, in part, by grant K24AA019707 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) awarded to the last author. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIAAA or the National Institutes of Health.

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Correspondence to Ryan C. Shorey.

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All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

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All authors declare that they have no competing interests

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Shorey, R.C., Strauss, C.V., Haynes, E. et al. The Impact of the Gender Differences Controversy on Female-Specific Physical Dating Violence Prevention Programming. J Fam Viol 31, 1025–1028 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-016-9857-4

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