A worrying number of Irish people think it’s OK to have sex without consent

These are some sobering numbers.

A worrying 21% of Irish people think that sex without consent is acceptable in certain circumstances. The statistic comes from a new Eurobarometer poll released on International Day to End Violence Against Women, which also reveals that 11% of Irish people believe that being drunk or on drugs justifies sex without consent being granted. Over a quarter of EU respondents - 27% - said that sex without consent was acceptable. Conversely, 97% of Irish and 96% of EU respondents said that violence against women was unacceptable. A staggering 77% of Irish people think that domestic violence against women is common or very common, while 53% think that domestic violence against men is common or very common. Finally, one stat really stands out. https://twitter.com/eurireland/status/802101319066591232

This is the report in full...

While there is widespread agreement that domestic violence, sexual harassment and other acts of gender-based violence are unacceptable the survey shows that it is still occurs widely. Three quarters of Irish (77%) and EU (74%) respondents say that domestic violence against women is common in their country. One quarter of Irish (26%) and EU (24%) respondents say they know of a friend or family member who has been a victim of domestic violence. Moreover, the survey also reveals the persistence of victim-blaming and alarming attitudes about consent - 18% of Irish and 17% of EU respondents agree that violence against women is often provoked by the victim. Sexual intercourse without consent

• 11% of Irish and 12% of EU respondents think being drunk or using drugs justifies sexual intercourse without consent, with those in Romania (30%), Hungary (24%), Bulgaria (21%) and Latvia (20%) the most likely to think this way. This compares to only 2% of respondents in Sweden, Finland, Spain and Denmark.
• 9% of Irish and 11% of EU respondents say intercourse without consent is justified if a person voluntarily goes home with someone Romania (26%), Hungary and Latvia (both 20%) say intercourse without consent is justified if a person voluntarily goes home with someone. Just 3% of respondents in Sweden and Spain think this way.
• 9% of Irish and 10% of EU respondents say that sexual intercourse without consent is justified if the person is wearing revealing, provocative or sexy clothing. Respondents in Romania (25%) were most likely to agree while only 2% of respondents in Sweden, Spain and Denmark think that way.
• 7% of Irish and EU respondents say sexual intercourse without consent is justified if the person is out walking alone at night. Respondents in Hungary are the most likely to say intercourse without consent is justified if the person was out walking alone at night (18%) while those in Denmark and Spain (both 1%) were least likely.
• 21% of Irish and 27% of EU respondents think that having sexual intercourse without consent may be justified in certain situations. Respondents in Romania (55%) were most likely to be of this opinion while those in Sweden (6%) were least.

Attitudes towards violence against women

• 23% of Irish and 22% of EU respondents agree women often make up or exaggerate claims of abuse or rape. Maltese respondents were most likely to agree (47%) while Swedish respondents were least (8%).
• 18% of Irish and 17% of EU respondents agree that violence against women is often provoked by the victim. This compares to a high of 57% in Latvia and a low of 6% in the Netherlands.

Domestic violence

• 77% (up 2 pp since 2010) of Irish people think domestic violence against women in Ireland is common or very common, which is above the EU average of 74%. People in Portugal (93%) were most likely to think that domestic violence against women was a problem in their country and people in Bulgaria (50%) least.
• 53% of Irish respondents think domestic violence against men is common or very common in Ireland. Only the UK was higher (61%). People in Bulgaria (8%) were least likely to think domestic violence against men was common. The EU average is 29%.
• 89% of Irish people (up 6 pp since 2010) say domestic violence against women is unacceptable and should always be punishable by the law. This is above the EU average of 84% but well below Portugal in top place at 96%. People in Latvia (64%) were least likely to agree. A further 8% of Irish people think domestic violence against women is unacceptable but should not always be punishable by law.
• Irish respondents (88%) were fourth most likely to say domestic violence against men is unacceptable and should be punishable by law. This is well above the EU average of 80% but below Spain in top place at 93%. People in Latvia (55%) were least likely to agree. A further 9% of Irish people think domestic violence against men is unacceptable but should not always be punishable by law.
• 12% of Irish respondents agree that domestic violence is a private matter and should be handled within the family. This compares to an EU average of 15% with Bulgaria in top place at 34% and Sweden in bottom place at 2%.

Sexual harassment

• Only 1% of Irish and EU respondents think sending unwanted sexually illicit emails or messages is not wrong and should not be against the law. This compares to a high of 4% in Lithuania and a low of 0% in the UK.
• Only 3% of Irish and 5% of EU respondents say that making sexually suggestive comments or “jokes” to a woman in the street is not wrong and should not be against the law. Respondents in Slovakia (9%) were most likely to think it wasn't wrong while respondents in Malta and the UK (both 1%) were least likely.
• Only 1% of Irish respondents thought touching a colleague in an inappropriate or unwanted way was not wrong and should not be against the law. This compares to an EU average of 2% with respondents in Hungary most likely to agree (5%).
• 74% of Irish and 70% of EU respondents think sexual harassment against women is common. Italian respondents (89%) were most likely to think it was common while Greek respondents were least (32%).

The fieldwork for the survey was carried out in June of this year. 1,002 people were interviewed in Ireland.