Female perpetrated domestic violence: Prevalence of self-defensive and retaliatory violence.

Differences between male and female perpetrated domestic violence are widely acknowledged. However, there is a lack of Australian data on the circumstances of female perpetrated violence. 

This study analysed 153 police narratives of domestic violence incidents involving a female person of interest (POI). Results were consistent with international studies. 

Half of the episodes involved either self-defensive or retaliatory violence—otherwise known as violent resistance—meaning the POI had been a victim of prior violence by their partner or the episode involved a male victim who was abusive in the lead-up to the incident.