Type of response women between women and men

Hit back 24.4% 15%
Cried 54.6% 5.8%
Yelled or cursed him/her 42.6% 28.7%
Ran to another room 8.6% 13.9%
Called a friend/relative 11.4% 2.2%
Called the police 8.5% 0.9%
Ran out of the house 14% 18%
Other 7.3% 32.2%

When most survey data are compared with archival data, it appears that only 8% of women who are assaulted report the abuse. It also shows that only 1% of men who are assaulted report the abuse.

In other words, although only a small percentage of both women and men report their abuse, women report it about eight times more often than men when assaulted by a partner.

This is also supported by the 1985 NFVS study, which found that women were 9 times more likely to report their assaults to the police and 5 times more likely to discuss the abuse with a friend or relative as shown in the table to the right. (Stets & Straus, 1990,