Archive 1992–2014

Objectives. An analysis of available data on violence in the man-woman relationship and outlining the real picture, causes and consequences of intimate partner violence.

Review. Violence in close relationships termed in the English language literature on the subject "intimatepartner violence " occurs in every social class, in all cultures, all over the world. Men as often as women are perpetrators or victims. Women much more often than men experience physical violence from their partners and not infrequently are victims of systematic, long-term persecution. Women use mostly verbal violence towards their partners, shouting and hurling abuse, but resort to physical violence in self-defense only. It is not true that men are aggressive and women helpless. It should be remembered though that consequences of violence experienced by women are more severe - they more often sustain physical trauma and need medical help. Women also more often develop depression and have mental health problems.

Conclusions. Violence in various forms is used by both sexes, but more often is abused by men. Little is known about the phenomenon offemale violence, this issue requires further study. Efficient implementation ofpreventive measures may help to reduce the scope of this problem, and may reveal its undisclosed "dark" side.