According to the results the prevalence of domestic violence against women was 96.7%, 75.3%, 33.9%, 18.4%, and 10.5% in negotiation, psychological, physical, sexual, and injury respectively. In Mohammad Khani's study, the prevalence of domestic violence against women was 72.2%, 71.3%, 71%, 48.7%, and 64.8% in negotiation, psychological, physical, sexual, and injury respectively. In a systematic review and meta-analysis's study, pooled prevalence of lifetime intimate partner violence was 55%. Of these, the main categories were lifetime physical violence 39%, psychological violence 45%, and sexual violence 20% (Semahegn, et al. 2019). The results of these two studies have consistency approximately. Overpassing the time and the approval of women's protection laws seems that physical violence has diminished, and negotiation and psychological violence had increased [19].
The prevalence of violence against men in our study in the dimension of the negotiation, psychological, physical, sexual, the injury was 97.3%, 74.5%, 29.5%, 26.1%, and 18.7% respectively and in the study of Mohammad Khani, was 77.8%, 59%, 26.5%, 19.1%, 13.5% respectively. The results of these two studies have consistency[19]. On the other, in study reported prevalence rates between 3.4% and 20.3% for physical violence between 7.3% and 37% for psychological violence, and between 0.2% and 7% for sexual violence, against physically and mentally healthy men [20].
In the present study, the distribution of the domestic violence prevalence against women is negotiation, psychological, physical, sexual, and injury, but in Mohammad Khani's study, they were negotiation, psychological, physical, injury, and sexual respectively. However, the distribution of domestic violence prevalence against men has consistent in both studies[19].
A comparison of the prevalence of violence against women and men suggests women more than men have been perpetrated the negotiation and injury, but men more than women have been perpetrated psychological, physical, and sexual violence. Comparison of the prevalence of dimensions of domestic violence against women shows, women have less sexual than physical, in other words, sexual violence in women's ranked in third and in men in fourth place. Although the tools of the two studies are different, the results are consistent.
Comparison of the repeatability of domestic violence against women and men suggests that women have committed negotiation and injury than men repeatedly, but men have committed psychological, physical, and sexual than women repeatedly. However, these differences had a statistical significance in all dimensions except injury.
Determining the extent of intimate partner violence against men may be difficult due to socio-cultural issues such as fear of disclosure, being judged by male peers, or undermining their masculinity [21, 22]. Women's violence against men is also a serious social issue that can lead to increase male violence against women [19]. This issue is much important to consider because, by the influence of modernity, the beliefs and values of women and men about marriage and family life are changing constantly [3]. Domestic violence against men will have irreparable consequences such as divorce, addiction, criminal, and other problems, which, like other complications of domestic violence, can be considered individually and socially [3].
The World Health Organization, the World Psychiatrists' Association, and the Centers for Disease Control in America introduce the prevention and intervention for intimate partner violence as a major and important goal [1].
According to Watts and Zimmerman, globally the report of domestic violence is less and it may be due to the sensitive nature of the issue [23]. The problem with conducting studies that want to describe violence in terms of gender is the amount of silence, fear, and embarrassment. That is why domestic violence against men is not reported [4]. To prevent the adverse effects of this issue on the results of the study, after mutual trust development with the participants, preparing a private room and a safe environment with intimacy were used for women interviews. The existence of different subcultures is a limitation to generalizing results to other cultures. Another limitation was the lack of access to studies that reported women and men's violence against each other simultaneously. Another limitation of the study was the lack of access to men and the completion of questionnaires only by women, and the results were related to their viewpoint.