ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with some of the prime issues regarding domestic violence. People who are convinced that domestic violence is mainly directed against women by men who want to dominate them question the outcomes of research that shows that women are as violent as men. In clinical practice, people recognize that a lot of women use physical violence in conflict with their male partners. An often expressed example is that they try to prevent their spouse from leaving if he wants to go. Gender development influences behaviour, also violent behaviour of men and women. Whether "masculine" and "feminine" behaviour are explained by biological principles and cerebral differences is a recurring discussion. A lot of research is available which shows that male and female brains work differently. Gender identity is formed in the first years of one's life and is anchored in the primal layers of the personality.
