Alberta survey reveals troubling male attitude

Eight per cent of province’s men believe it’s OK to assault a woman if she makes him angry

CALGARY – Nearly one in 10 Alberta men believes it’s OK to physically assault a woman if she does something to make him angry.

That’s one of the startling findings of a recent survey examining men’s attitudes toward domestic violence. And while the survey results indicate awareness about domestic violence is on the rise in Alberta, it also makes it clear the province still has a long way to go.

The telephone survey, conducted in February by Léger Marketing, quizzed 1,000 Alberta men about their attitudes on gender equity and domestic violence.

The results of the survey were released in Calgary this week, when the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters (ACWS) hosted its annual Breakfast With the Guys fundraiser, an event aimed at empowering men and boys to take a stand against domestic violence.

ACWS provincial co-ordinator Jan Reimer said she has “mixed emotions” about the information brought to light by the survey.

On the one hand, some of the responses are cause for optimism – for example, 56 per cent of men say they are more aware of domestic violence issues than they were five years ago, and 91 per cent say they would intervene if they knew someone in a violent relationship.

Some of the other results, however, are more disturbing. Fifty-two per cent of men surveyed said they believe a woman can leave a violent relationship if she really wants to, while only 52 per cent disagreed with the statement, “If a woman wears provocative clothing, she’s putting herself at risk for rape.”

Thirteen per cent of the survey respondents said domestic violence is not as serious if it results from people getting so angry they temporarily lose control. And eight per cent, nearly one in 10 of the men surveyed, did not agree that it’s never acceptable to physically assault a woman if she did something to incite the anger.