NEWS IN BRIEF

Women suffering due to ‘lad’ culture

WOMEN still suffer from a “lad” culture which fuels violence, misogyny and the gender pay gap, according to the authors of a new report.

A study found “disturbingly high” levels of hostility towards women, explaining why progress on equality is so slow.

The Fawcett Society asked more than 8,000 adults if a woman was to blame if she went out late at night wearing a short skirt, gets drunk and is then sexually assaulted.

Almost two out of five men and a third of women said there was total or partial blame.

Fawcett Society chief executive Sam Smethers said: “I can think of no other crime where we are so ready to blame the victim, but here women are being held responsible for the behaviour of their attacker.

“It is quite extraordinary and reveals just how deep-seated our readiness to blame women runs within our culture.

“This resonated with the young women we spoke to who told us about the lad culture they experience on a daily basis and the way they have to manage the situation if they are approached in a bar, for example. Just saying the word ‘no’ can escalate to violence.

“But what these women called for was education, not blame. They just want things to change, which is why we must have statutory age-appropriate sex and relationships education across all our schools.”

Almost one in five men aged 25-34 and 14% aged 18-24 said they did not want women in their lives to have equality, adding that they would be worse off as a result.