Younger men are more likely than older men to engage in victim-blaming behaviour towards women who experience sexual assault, according to new research published by the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC).
People’s views on rape and sexual assault varied strongly by gender, the research found, with men under 24 most likely to show victim-blaming attitudes and women over 35 least likely.
There was also a considerable variation among men along age lines, with younger age groups more likely to hold victim-blaming attitudes than older men.
More than a third of men aged 16-24 (36 per cent) said they believe a person who is raped or sexually assaulted while under the influence of drugs or alcohol is at least partially responsible. This figure drops to 10 per cent among men aged 45-54.
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A man aged between 16-24 is seven times more likely than a man aged 55-64 to think that people make a big deal about sexual violence when it’s not really that serious, according to the research.
Men aged between 16-24 are five times more likely than men aged 55-64 to say that you should only believe that someone has been sexually assaulted if they report it to gardaí.
The survey by Ipsos B&A survey took the views of 1,042 people last February.
It also found that men aged between 16-24 are almost eight times more likely than to men aged over 65 to say that it is only guilty verdicts in court that determine whether you should believe someone was raped.
The majority of men surveyed (85 per cent) said they feel safe, compared to 48 per cent of women. Almost 30 per cent of people surveyed said they have experienced sexual violence, and half say they know someone who has.
Speaking at the research’s launch on Wednesday, Ellen O’Malley Dunlop, vice-president of GREVIO, a European expert group focused on tackling violence against women, said it is vital that parents and teachers discuss these issues with young people.
“Prevention is so important,” said Ms O’Malley Dunlop, who previously served as the CEO of the DRCC.
“When you hear what’s happening with the young men today, we really do need programmes in schools.”
Ms O’Malley Dunlop said all teachers should be trained in how to address issues such as consent and sexual violence and should be able to talk to their students in an age-appropriate way.
She said programmes on these topics should be mandatory because otherwise they will not be delivered as often in schools.
“We need to give our young people the information that they need. We need to work with them, and we need to work with each other,” she said.
Charlene Masterson, who waived her anonymity in 2021 when her father was jailed for 17 years for sexually abusing her, told the event: “It’s never too young to start talking about consent.”
She said such a conversation with younger children “doesn’t have to be in a sexual context” but can involve parents telling their sons “you and your sister are the same”.
Ms Masterson also urged men to call out their friends if they make derogatory comments about women. She said women can shout “until we’re blue in the face” about desired changes to public attitudes, but it is up to the peers of men committing these crimes to “call them out”.
