More Men Fall Victim to Dating Violence

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2018/08/13/2018081301066.html

The number of men who report being attacked by their girlfriends is increasing faster than that of female victims of dating violence.

The number of women who reported violence from their boyfriends soared 30 percent from 6,702 in 2016 to 8,703 in 2017, according to the National Police Agency. But male victims doubled from 458 to 977 over the same period.

Already some 4,427 women and 650 men fell victim to dating violence during the first six months this year. If this trend goes on, the number of male victims will likely surpass 1,000 by year’s end.

Experts believe that the actual number of male victims is larger but they are often ashamed to come forward.

But Chung Suk-hun, a professor of criminal psychology at Soonchunhyang University, said, “The increase in the number of male victims of dating violence means in a sense that women with more education on sexual equality are now actively resisting verbal attacks from their boyfriends.”

“But women should not use violence either. We need education and counseling because this can lead to domestic violence,” he added.

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