The purpose of this study was to investigate current circumstances of violence against wives, and to identify the wife's opinion of the spouse's punishment in domestic violence cases.

The subjects were 216 married women in G province. Data was gathered from November 22 to December 6, 2004. Data was analyzed by descriptive statistics, and the χ²-test using SPSS/Win 10.0 program.

About thirty six percent of the subjects had experience with domestic violence. There was a high prevalence of psychological aggression(68%), sexual coercion (36%), physical assault(31%), and injury(19%). The subjects experiencing domestic violence had a higher positive attitude towards the spouse's punishment than subjects not experiencing domestic violence. The more severe the domestic violence was, the more the battered women's positive attitude for criminal action increased.

An educational program and public relations will increase women's empowerment to solve domestic violence. A more cooperative and integrative program for prevention and an intervention system against domestic violence should be developed for women in battered situations.