The backlash against studies of violence against women, or who is afraid of figures on male violence?

The aim of this article is to examine the criticism directed at studies of male violence against women and at the researchers who carry out these studies. These attacks represent part of a wider strategy to conceal male violence, a strategy which comes to the fore each time male violence becames socially visible. Contrary to what is claimed, these studies tend to under-estimate rather than over-estimate the frequency of violence. The concept of much less thanvictim feminismmuch greater than is yet another device to deny male violence and to denigrate its victims.