Women can be abusers

By By Georgia E. Frye / staff writer
Dec. 14, 2003
While most domestic violence is committed by men against women, women also can be guilty of abusing men or their children.
Payne said many women who have taken abuse for a long time could begin to fight back. She also said Care Lodge offers classes for women guilty of abuse to teach them about respect and equality.
Meridian Police Department Assistant Chief Keith McCary said he is seeing more and more women commit domestic violence.
According to a 2000 survey conducted by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, one out of four American women has been physically assaulted or raped by an intimate partner and one out of every 14 men reported they were assaulted by a partner.
The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control is part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
The survey also found that women are more likely than men to be murdered in the context of domestic violence and women ages 20-29 are at the greatest risk of being killed by a partner.
Payne said that while the number of women who abuse their partners or children is on the rise, most relationship violence is committed by men.