It could have happened to your grandmother or aunt and it might even happen to you. In fact, as a college student, you are most at risk to be in a violent relationship because many abusive relationships occur in the college-aged crowd, with the prime age being 21. The researchers also said in their study that the consequences of abuse are far more traumatic for women than for men. Moffitt said that women are more likely to be seriously injured than men are in violent relationships. According to Linda Roberts, a UW-Madison child and family studies professor who focuses on intimate relationships, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Women are also six times more likely than men to be victimized by an intimate partner.
However, Roberts said that we need to understand why men and women become violent toward their partners, not just how often they are violent. She said men and women generally use violence with different motives within their relationships. They want to control their partner, dominate the relationship, and isolate their partner from the rest of society. They use violence to get attention and say 'listen to me'. She also said women use violence as self-defense against an abusive partner.