Almost 1 in 7 Irish people believe a woman is at least partially responsible if she suffers sexual violence while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, according to the findings of new EU-wide research.
A study published by the European Commission on attitudes towards violence against women found 13 per cent of people in the Republic agreed that women who are sexually assaulted while affected by alcohol or drugs are partially to blame for what happened.
It was the joint 7th lowest rate across the 27 EU member states and below the EU average of 16 per cent.
The levels of belief that women who are under the influence of alcohol or drugs are at least partially responsible if they experience a sexual assault range from eight per cent in Sweden to 46 per cent in Latvia.
The Eurobarometer poll survey of over 25,800 respondents across the 27 EU member states, including over 1,000 in the Republic, also revealed that 20 per cent of Irish citizens believe that women often make up or exaggerate claims of abuse or rape – a figure above the EU average of 17 per cent.
The survey showed that four per cent of respondents from Ireland agreed that a husband or boyfriend could have sex with his female partner without her consent.
However, it also highlighted how a large majority of citizens across the EU including Ireland disagreed with such views.
The research also contained some other stark findings about Irish attitudes to gender-based violence including:
• Eight per cent of Irish people think it is OK for a man to occasionally slap his wife or girlfriend – the joint 6th highest rate in the EU.
• 69 per cent believe intimate partner violence against women in Ireland is either fairly or very common
• 18 per cent of Irish people believe it is acceptable to ogle, catcall or whistle at women
• Nine per cent believe that if a woman says “no” when faced with a sexual proposal, she often means “yes” but is playing “hard to get”
• 15 per cent of Irish respondents claimed it was acceptable for men to make suggestive comments about a female colleague’s appearance at work
• 28 per cent said displaying images of women with sexual connotations in advertising was acceptable.
The research revealed that approximately 1 in 3 Irish people believe that if a woman shared intimate pictures of themselves with someone, that they were at least partially responsible if the images were subsequently shared online without their consent.
Despite 32 per cent of Irish respondents holding such a view, it was the third lowest rate across the EU where the average was 43 per cent, rising to as high as 74 per cent in Latvia.
On another question in relation to cyberviolence, 18 per cent of Irish people said they believed that women should accept that they can expect sexist, demeaning and abusive replies if they share their opinion on social media – just below the EU average of 21 per cent.
Asked about issues around coercive control in relationships. Irish people were more likely than any other EU citizens to find it unacceptable that a man would control his wife or partner’s finances.
The survey showed 77 per cent disagreed that such control over finances was acceptable.
Ireland’s rate was the highest in the EU where the average figure was 63 per cent.
A majority of respondents in nine countries – Hungary, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Czechia, Greece, Slovakia, Poland, Belgium and Estonia – declared it was acceptable that a man could exercise control over his female partner’s finances. In Ireland, only 21 per cent held such a view.
In addition, 11 per cent of Irish people said they would find it acceptable for a man to control his wife or girlfriend’s activities or relationships such as their use of mobile phones or social media.
The EU average for such a view was almost twice as high at 20 per cent.
The European Commission said the survey was conducted with the aim of gaining a better understanding of attitudes of EU citizens on violence against women and gender-based stereotypes which it claimed present substantial obstacles to the advancement of equality and human rights.
“These issues affect societal norms, behaviours and attitudes, frequently resulting in discrimination, victimisation and marginalisation of women,” it added.
Overall, it found that while the sexualisation and objectification of women in personal situations is regarded as unacceptable by majorities across all EU countries, there is much more acceptance of it in relation to advertising.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help.
