Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1529892
5 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 27 NOVEMBER 2024 NEWS JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt THE Maltese are the second most likely in Europe, after Bul- garians, to think that women often exaggerate rape and abuse claims. This emerges from a Euroba- rometer on gender stereotypes and violence against women held in all EU member states, which shows that 32% of Mal- tese respondents agree with the statement that women "often make up or exaggerate claims of abuse or rape." The Maltese were second only to Bulgarians (34%) in express- ing agreement with a statement that reinforces prejudice against women who find the courage to denounce abusers. Moreover, the Maltese (56%) were the least likely in the EU to disagree with this troubling statement. The level of disagreement with this statement ranges from 56% in Malta to 85% in Spain. On average, across the EU, 73% disagree with this state- ment. In a more positive develop- ment, only 2% of Maltese justify rape when this takes place with- in a relationship, in contrast to 4% of all EU respondents. The share disagreeing with the statement that "a husband or boyfriend can have sex with his wife or girlfriend without her consent" ranges from 85% in Denmark to 97% in Luxem- bourg and Malta. But the survey also shows that more than a tenth of Maltese do not completely subscribe to the "no means no" maxim. In fact, 13% of Maltese respondents agree that, faced with a sexual proposal, if a woman says "no," she often means "yes" but is playing "hard to get." While the vast majority of Maltese (81%) disagreed with this statement, the level of disagreement was lower than the European mean of 86%. Moreover, while 69% of all EU respondents think the state- ment is completely unaccept- able, the percentage who ex- press the same opinion falls to 52% in Malta. This is because a substantial 29% of Maltese respondents tend to disagree rather than completely disagree with the statement. Moreover, 20% of Maltese believe that if a woman suffers sexual violence while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, she is at least partially responsi- ble for what happens to her. The same view is expressed by 16% of all EU respondents. Agreement with this statement ranged from 46% in Latvia to just 9% in Denmark and Swe- den. Majority blame women for online abuse 55% of Maltese participating in the survey think that wom- en who share intimate pictures online with someone else are partly to blame if their pho- tos are shared on the internet without their consent. This victim-blaming view- point is shared by 43% of all EU respondents surveyed. The total level of disagree- ment with the obnoxious state- ment was highest in Sweden (68%) and Germany (67%), while agreement was highest in Latvia (74%), followed by Lith- uania (70%) and Czechia (68%). Malta was one of 13 Member States where a majority of re- spondents are more likely to agree than to disagree with this statement. Appallingly, 25% of Maltese also think that if women share their opinions on social media, they should accept that they elicit sexist, demeaning, or abusive replies. 72% of Maltese respondents disagreed. In contrast, re- spondents in Sweden (86%), closely followed by those in Germany (84%) and the Neth- erlands (83%), were the most likely to disagree with this statement. Across the EU as a whole, 75% of respondents disagreed. Cat-calling unacceptable in Malta The Maltese are also slightly more permissive towards ad- verts showing sexualised im- agery of women. While 59% of all EU citizens think this is un- acceptable, the percentage falls to 52% in Malta. And while 78% find it unac- ceptable for men to make sug- gestive comments or allusions about a female colleague's ap- pearance at work, the percent- age falls to 76% in Malta. But the Maltese are the most likely in Europe to think that it is unacceptable for men to body-gaze, ogle, catcall, or whistle at women. This proportion ranges from 72% in Greece and Hungary to 88% in France and 89% in Mal- ta. 96% of Maltese also find it unacceptable for a man to oc- casionally slap his wife or girl- friend. 25% of Maltese feel women should accept sexist, abusive replies if posting opinion on social media Percentage agreeing with the following statements: % who agree Malta EU-27 Women often make up or exaggerate claims of abuse or rape 32 17 Faced with a sexual proposal, if a woman says 'no', she often means 'yes' but she is playing 'hard to get'' 13 9 If a woman suffers sexual violence while under the influence of alco- hol or drugs, she is at least partially responsible, 20 16 If women share intimate pictures of themselves with someone, they are at least partially responsible if the image is shared online without their consent. 55 43 If women share their opinion on social media, they should accept that they elicit sexist, demeaning and / or abusive replies 25 21