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20th Jan 2018

New study finds 1 in 3 young men worried their behaviour might be seen as sexual harassment

Michael Lanigan

This shows a major sea-change.

One in three young men are worried that something they have done could be perceived as sexual harassment, a new study has found.

The survey, which was carried out by MTV’s Insights Research team, took the opinions of approximately 1,800 people between the ages of 18 and 25 in order to see how the #MeToo and TIME’S UP movements have shaped their opinions.

The other key findings from the study include the fact that 40% of young men have changed the ways they “interact in potential romantic relationships” as a result of the #MeToo movement.

In general, 85% of those surveyed felt that the recent wave sexual harassment allegations made public have “started an important conversation”.

The #MeToo movement emerged after disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein was accused of multiple counts of sexual assault and harassment following two major expose stories published in the New York Times and New Yorker in October 2017.

In the immediate aftermath, thousands of Twitter users globally began to share their own experiences with sexual harassment and assault.

As a result of this, the women who broke their silence on Weinstein were named as Time magazine’s Person of the Year.

Then, in January, as a silent protest for year’s of covering up their mistreatment in the film industry, dozens of actresses wore black to the 2018 Golden Globes.

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