Are judgments of partner abuse “rose tinted”? An exploration of judgments of gender in bidirectional intimate partner violence

Gendered models of intimate partner violence/abuse (IPV/A), and public and professional perceptions, describe IPV/A as a one-sided crime perpetrated by men unilaterally. This becomes problematic when considering bidirectional IPV/A: the dominant form of relational violence according to reviews. Here we explored judgments of bidirectional IPV/A, first using an experimental design and a general public sample, and then using qualitative inquiry with prospective trainee forensic psychologists. Although participants acknowledged bidirectionality, males were infrequently labeled as “victims” and females as “perpetrators”. Participant interviews suggested gender constructions influenced their judgments. Implications for training to challenge gendered narratives and de-bias professional practice are discussed.