Dating Violence Dating violence may be defined as the perpetration or threat of an act of violence by at least one member of an unmarried couple on the other member within the context of dating or courtship. This violence encompasses any form of sexual assault, physical violence, and verbal or emotional abuse. Scope of the Problem Violent behavior that takes place in a context of dating or courtship is not a rare event.
Estimates vary because studies and surveys use different methods and definitions of the problem.
Females are somewhat more likely than males to report being victims of violence. Over half of a representative sample of more than 1,000 female students at a large urban university had experienced some form of unwanted sex. 8 Studies of college students 9,10 and high school students 11 suggest that both males and females inflict and receive dating violence in equal proportion, but the motivation for violence by women is more often for defensive purposes. A recent National Crime Victimization survey found that women were 6 times more likely than men to experience violence at the hands of an intimate partner. 14 Intimate partners include current or former spouses, boyfriends, girlfriends, dating partners, regardless of whether they are cohabiting or not.