The survey was conducted among a representative sample of 1,016 women between 20 and 60 years of age. The article discusses methodological and definitional issues in survey research on violence against women, and the design of a semistructured interview schedule that enabled flexible but controlled data collection. The article also reviews method and findings in relation to earlier findings and the debate on quality of survey data on wife abuse. The Dutch national findings offer ample evidence for an understanding of violence in the home as a gendered phenomenon. In the Netherlands, most probably more women than men are far more frequently and seriously victimized by their partners. These findings are in contrast to interpretation of earlier survey findings, which concluded that women are more violent than men or that a substantial part of the reported violence among couples is mutual. A more elaborate and sensitive operationalization is needed to acquire valid data in this matter. Tables, notes, references