One Third Of Young Men Believe Violence Against Women Is Acceptable In Germany: Study

A recent survey in Germany revealed that a third of young men believe it is acceptable to use violence against women. This has stirred up outrage among equality activists. The survey was conducted by Children’s Charity Plant International, and the findings were published in a regional newspaper named Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung.

The participants of the survey included 1,000 men and women between the ages of 18 and 35 across Germany. They were asked to give their opinions on masculinity for an online study.

Violence Against Women In Germany

In a shocking revelation, 34% of men admitted that they were violent towards their female partner in the past to "instill respect in them." 33% of them believed it was acceptable if their "hand slipped" occasionally during arguments with their female partner.

The survey also discovered that over half of the men stated that they don’t want to have a relationship with a woman who has had several sexual partners in the past, and 20% of women seem to agree with this statement. It was also discovered that both men and women had vastly different expectations from a relationship.

Over half of the male participants, or 52%, wanted their relationship to be in "breadwinner-housewife mode," where the men would earn money while the woman would be responsible for household tasks and childcare. In contrast, over two-thirds of the female participants mentioned that they wanted an equal partnership and shared decision-making.

48% of the participants claimed that they disliked the public display of homosexuality and felt "disturbed" by it.

The Federal Organisation for Equality, a German group, tweeted that they were shocked by the results of the survey. They said that the survey indicated that every third of young men believed violence against women to be acceptable, which needs to be changed immediately.

Karsten Kassner, from a gender equality advocacy group called Federal Forum Men, also stated that a change in perspective was needed. He pointed out that it was problematic that a third of the male participants trivialised violence against women.

The German Federal Criminal Police (BKA) data disclosed that 115,000 German women had experienced intimate partner violence in 2021. Germany is also one of the European countries with one of the highest rates of femicide, an issue that intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It's rather shocking that young men are so deeply affected by internalised patriarchy that they think it's acceptable for men to become violent with women. While this was the social norm back in the day, the problematic thing is that men as young as 18 who participated in the survey believe they can inflict violence on women. This is highly concerning considering that these men are the future generation and are in the position to influence yet another generation as well. It's about time men knew the difference between masculinity and toxic masculinity and changed their attitude toward women and relationships.

Suggested Reading: NFHS-5 Shows 30% Women In India Face Sexual Violence: Where Are The Laws?