New York, April 2 (IANS): Feminists would take this with a grain of salt as a new study has found that rates of rape, sexual assault and homicide are actually lower in societies with more men than women.

Male-biased sex ratio does not lead to more crime, the study found.

In societies where men outnumber women, the men do not necessarily resort to violent competition for the limited number of mates, said the study.

“Evidence does not support a relationship between violence and a short supply of women,” said Ryan Schacht, a doctoral researcher at University of California, Davis.

The reason for this unexpected outcome, the authors said, has something to do with supply and demand.

"When men are abundant, rather than rare, they often switch their strategy to compete in non-violent rather than violent ways,” commented Kristin Liv Rauch, a postdoctoral researcher at UC Davis.

“They tend to pursue females in more of a courtship manner that would lead to long-term relationships and marriage, in an attempt to secure a partner in a depleted market," Liv Rauch said.

The study appeared in the journal Trends in Ecology & Evolution.