A new study of patients attending their family doctors has found 52 per cent of men and 43 per cent of women in this setting have experienced domestic violence.
The authors of the study, who are based at Trinity College Dublin, say the research indicates intimate partner violence is a major problem, and not just a problem for women.
This study also finds the levels of domestic violence experienced by both men and women attending GPs to be significantly higher than was found in another similar study published in January. That study of 200 patients examined the extent to which men and women attending a doctor's practice in Galway city had experienced domestic violence and found 18.2 per cent of men and 39 per cent of women had such an experience.
This latest study involved over 300 patients attending six general practices in Dublin, in both affluent and deprived areas.
The new study also found that while more men than women reported experiencing one or more violent incidents during an intimate relationship over their lifetime, where women experienced violence it was more severe than that experienced by men, with the women sustaining more injuries.
Women were more likely to report fear of a partner. Some 26 per cent of women and 14 per cent of men reported feeling afraid of a partner either often or sometimes.
Those surveyed included 180 women and 149 men. Most were under 40 years old and had children.
Dr Susan Smith, senior lecturer in primary care at TCD and one of the study's authors, said the results would echo those of other international studies and indicated intimate partner violence was a problem for both men and women.
"The societal perception is that it is a woman's problem," she said. But the study indicated it was "inappropriate to continue to address this issue as solely a woman's problem".
Asked if it was surprising that more men than women were reporting being victims of intimate partner violence in this latest piece of research, Dr Smith said she would not regard the percentage difference between the sexes as statistically significant, given the relatively small size of the study.
Meanwhile, more men than women in her study also reported having experienced "controlling behaviours" in an intimate relationship.
And the study noted that both women and men who sustained one or more injuries as a result of violence at the hands of a partner were "significantly more likely to be depressed and anxious than those without that experience".
Furthermore, 82 per cent of women and 70 per cent of men surveyed said it would be acceptable for their GP to ask them about intimate partner violence during a consultation.
The research, which was led by Gillian Paul, a research assistant at TCD, has just been published in the European Journal of General Practice.