Too many men: the violence problem?

Finally, we review how crime is related to sex ratios, and find no consistent evidence in support of the ‘more men, more violence ’ view. The poor fit between sex ratio and population crime statistics suggests that new lines of evolutionary-ecological investigation, both theoretical and empirical, are needed to better understand the patterning of violence in human societies. Where does ‘more men, more violence ’ come from? The ‘more men, more violence ’ expectation derives from multiple sources. The first is simply mathematical. Given that most perpetrators and victims of violence are men, it Reviewfocusing here on violence in human societies. We first highlight recent reformulations within sexual selection theory that challenge our intuitions and generate predic-tions regarding competition over mates that differ fro