WATERVILLE (AP) — The number of women being arrested for domestic assault is on the rise in Maine.

The Department of Public Safety says 1,067 women were charged with assaulting men in 2008. That’s a 38 percent increase from the 770 women charged five years ago.

Law enforcement officials told the Morning Sentinel in Waterville that battered men were less willing to come forward a decade ago because of the stigma involved. Others said that women are now more inclined than before to fight back against men.

Public Safety Commissioner Ann Jordan said there’s also been an increase in the use of drugs and alcohol, driving up the number assaults.

There were about 3,000 men charged with domestic assault in 2008, which is about three times the number of women.