Wife beating

[Samblain]

Is wife/partner beating more prevalent in the north and midlands.

[andy hughes]

Statistics suggest that the figures are highrer, but sadly, this may simply mean that partners in this area actually report this abuse.

[rja211077]

suggest it is linked to general affluence.

[Mr_Punch]

Thats the way to do it!

[linseli]

I'm afraid domestic violence happens across the country and research by the Council of Europe in 2002 showed fairly consistent findings - 1 in 4 women will experience domestic violence at some point in their life with between 6-10% of women suffering in any given year. This is regardless of where they live, how much money they have or their educational level. But it's not just women who face abusive partners. Home Office research (2002) showed that of the approx 635,000 incidents of domestic violence in England and Wales every year (sorry don't have figs for Scotland or Ireland) 81% of the victims were women and 19% were men. In some ways men have an additional hurdle in that there's a perceived shame about suffering at the hands of a 'weaker' woman. Despite the figures rja may be right about affluence having an impact but everyone seems to forget that while the South East as a whole may be wealthy, the poorest parts of the entire country aren't in Manchester, Glasgow or Newcastle, they're in London - right alongside some of the richest areas! Domestic violence accounts for over 30 murders each year in London alone. Over 100,000 women in London need medical help after being attacked by their partner. Seventeen per cent of homelessness applications are as a result of domestic violence. And here's a final statistic for the accountants out there. Dealing with domestic violence costs �278m per annum in London alone! http://www.womensaid.org.uk/index.htm for lots of info. There's unfortunately also a race element here too in that 'disciplining' or 'chastising' your wife is still more acceptable in some countries and cultures than others but I'm not qualified to get into that.

[brawburd]

And in more affluent areas people live in bigger houses and are less likely to have contact with social services etc. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen - just means it isn't as easy to see and hear.