Introduction

The problem of human violence is often viewed as a male problem. Most violent crime and homicides are carried out by men, usually young men (Figs. 6.1 and 6.2). Organised groups who use violence in the name of a larger body of people, whether official, such as the armed services, or unofficial, such as vigilante or paramilitary groups, are usually made up of men. Violence is seen as the masculine way of reacting to the difficulties and frustrations of life. This emphasis on the maleness of human violence can be found in the writings of both feminists (e.g., Dobash and Dobash, 1977–8; Walker, 1989, 1990) and evolutionary psychologists (e.g., Buss, 1994, 1999; Daly and Wilson, 1988, 1990; Wilson and Daly, 1999).

Those who claim that violence is a male rather than a human problem are correct in the sense that most overt acts of violence towards other adults now and in the past were committed by men. This view may, however, underestimate the extent to which women are directly and indirectly involved. Under circumstances where resources are scarce, or there is pronounced competition for men who have access to such resources, women's aggression may be more like that of men and involve direct physical conflict. When women from countries such as the USA come into conflict with their male partners, they engage in physical aggression to a greater extent than was formerly realised, and a substantial minority of those injured in such disputes are men.