The National Violence Against Women Survey (NVAWS) treated women and men separately and unequally. Questions addressed to women and men in NVAWS are substantively identical. NVAWS documentation, however, includes two separate questionnaires: one for females, and one for males. NVAWS data is distributed in a file structure that separates females into one file, and males into another file.^ These forms of separation were not necessary. Separate treatment of women and men does not necessarily imply unequal treatment. But it makes that possibility more likely.

NVAWS was administered separately and differently for women and men. Only female interviewers surveyed women for NVAWS. Male and female interviewers surveyed men. NVAWS surveyed women from November, 1995 to May 1996. It surveyed men from February, 1996 to May, 1996.^ NVAWS reported no statistical tests of the significance of these differences in survey treatment.

The selection of persons included in the final NVAWS sample differed significantly between men and women. Although NVAWS used random-digit dialing to contact potential respondents, NVAWS screened out as ineligible 83% more men than women (8828 men, compared to 4829 women). Men and women also differed significantly in their responses to the interviewers. While the final sample size was 8000 men and 8000 women, 7552 men refused to be interviewed, compared to 4608 females who refused to be interviewed. On the other hand, fewer men who agreed to be interviewed subsequently terminated the interview than did women (72 men terminated the interview, compared to 351 women).^ The Full Report for the NVAWS does not discuss these differences. NVAWS public data documentation does not even document them. These sex differences in survey responses, however, could significantly bias reported NVAWS statistics.

NVAWS indicates less concern for violence against men. The NVAWS Full Report noted:

Any form of research that involves contact with live persons, particularly those who may have been victims of violence, has the potential of resulting in harm to them.

The Report described arrangements taken to avoid harm from the NVAWS:

If a respondent appeared to be in distress, interviewers were instructed to contact a supervisor who monitored the interview from that point and intervened as necessary. If necessary, the respondent was provided with a local rape or domestic violence hotline telephone number.^

There is considerable evidence that services for victims of domestic violence do not adequately serve men.^ NVAWS, despite highlighting its care to avoid harm to victims, indicating no awareness of the paucity of services for male victims.

Concern for violence in NVAWS reports favored concern for women relative to men. About the time NVAWS was administered, men suffered 54% more serious injuries from violence than women did. With respect to all victimizations from violence, males ages 12 and over suffered a 44% greater rate of violent victimization than did females of those ages.^ NVAWS focused its study of violence against women on categories of violence for which it found violence against women to be greater than violence against men. NVAWS thus highlighted intimate partner violence and domestic violence, and backgrounded non-domestic violence. Compared to violence against women, a much higher share of violence against men is non-domestic violence.

In addition to separate and unequal treatment of women and men, NVAWS has other serious weaknesses. The U.S. National Electronic Injury Surveillance System All-Injury Program (NEISS AIP) provides much better quality national estimates of serious incidents of domestic violence than does NVAWS.