THE FIRST SURVEY on men’s attitudes towards domestic violence shows Irish men are less conscious of the prevalence of domestic abuse than Irish women.
The new survey by SAFE Ireland shows that 52 per cent of men and 79 per cent of women perceive domestic violence as being common, occurring in 20 perceive or more households.
Impact of violence
One in ten men and one in four women perceive it as being very common. However over 45 per cent of men claim to be unaware of the impact of violence on women.
Over 96 per cent of both men and women agree that men have a role to play in preventing violence.
Men claim to be twice as likely than women to talk to a man to tell him to stop abusing, while women are more likely to provide information to a woman about a helpline or domestic violence service.
The survey showed that men are also less likely to know a woman living in a violent situation. Just one in eight men say that they knew a woman experiencing violence while one in five women say that they know a survivor.
Abusive relationship
Of those aware of a woman living in an abusive relationship, 36 per cent of men say that it is a friend or colleague and 25 per cent say that it is a neighbour. Just 3 per cent of men say that it is an immediate family member, such as a sister or mother and another 12 per cent of men say it is a close relation.
Of the men surveyed, 94 per cent said that they would talk to their sons about domestic violence.
Sharon O’Halloran, CEO of SAFE Ireland, said that the gap in awareness between men and women indicates that there is work to do to make violence against women an issue that men know about and talk about.
“Men are essential allies in ending violence,” she said. O’Halloran said that domestic violence is not necessarily something that is “part of their consciousness, part of their world, something that they know about as much as women. As long as this gap in awareness and consciousness exists, the longer it will take us to end violence in the home”.
The survey coincides with the launch of MAN UP – a campaign to highlight the crucial role that men play in ending violence.
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