A total of 33,724 police charges processed in courts of Edinburgh and Glasgow during 1974 were reviewed to determine physical violence, situation, sex of offender and victim, and the nature of their relationship. Of the 3,020 cases involving violence, 38.7 percent were violence between unrelated males, and 26 percent were by husbands directed at wives. Violence occurring between family members almost always (94 percent) involved male offenders and female victims in every type of relationship: marital, parental, or sibling. Husbands are rarely assaulted by their wives (1.1 percent) while attacks on wives represent over 75 percent of all violence in the family setting. Even among women who reported assaults, only 2 out of every 98 assaults were reported to the police. Interviews with 109 women who had been systematically beaten by husbands or paramours examined a variety of topics including the childhood of the man and woman through the early stages of courtship and family life. Although the man's increasing possessiveness and periodic displays of sexual jealousy were seen as signs of commitment to the relationship at the time, in retrospect, many of the women saw these as early warning signs. For most couples, violence did not occur until after marriage, with 59 percent of the women experiencing violence within the first year of marriage and 92 percent within the first 5 years. After marriage, authority relationships between men and women become more explicit, real or preceived challenges to the man's possession, authority, and control most often result in the use of violence. Tabular data and 25 footnotes are provided.