46% of Ulster students blame women for rape

A new poll has found that nearly half of Northern Ireland’s students believe that a woman is wholly or partially responsible for rape if she flirts.

The Amnesty International commissioned poll, published on 29 September, entitled Violence Against Women: The Perspective of Students in Northern Ireland, explores the "blame culture" found in attitudes towards women and sexual violence.

The research revealed that, of the 715 students surveyed at Ulster University, 46 per cent felt that a woman's flirting would leave her bearing some of the blame in the case of rape.

30 per cent believed that women were partially or totally responsible for rape if she wears sexy or revealing clothing and one in ten reasoned that violence was acceptable against a girlfriend who nags, flirts with other men, or refuses to have sex.

Amnesty International Northern Ireland programme director Patrick Corrigan said: “This survey shows that there are some extremely disturbing attitudes swirling around our campuses.

“It's shocking that so many students lay the blame for being raped or assaulted at the feet of women themselves. If we are going to break a cycle of violence against women in Northern Ireland, we need to start by challenging attitudes amongst students and the population at large."

Mr Corrigan continued: “As part of an integrated strategy to end all forms of violence against women, the Northern Ireland Executive should consider a comprehensive campaign aimed at preventing violence and challenging prejudicial attitudes.”

The figures were found to be considerably higher than similar surveys performed elsewhere in the UK by ICM for Amnesty International and End Violence Against Women Campaign.

The poll also revealed a high level of domestic violence against women in Northern Ireland. 59 per cent of participants knew of at least one woman or girl had been assaulted by a boyfriend or partner and 40 per cent were aware of at least one female student who had been assaulted.

Furthermore, 41 per cent of students knew of women that had been coerced or pressurised into having sex with another person.

Katie Morgan, President of National Union of Students/Union of Students in Ireland (NUS/USI) said: “Sadly, these results chime with what I have seen with my own eyes on campus. We've long been calling for better services for students who have suffered violence, and these results confirm not only that domestic abuse amongst students occurs far too often, but that students don't know where to turn when it happens.

“The universities and colleges need to think again about the welfare of their students and in tackling the suggestion that a woman can be responsible for being raped.”

The poll exposed that 77 per cent of students felt there was not enough information and support to tackle the problem and 82 per cent were unaware of the availability of support on campus.

Amnesty International, in conjunction with local student unions will roll out a campaign in the impending weeks at Ulster University and Queens University, Belfast to combat violence against female students.

Amnesty International has also written to the Northern Ireland Executive and College Heads to encourage action in changing attitudes toward women.

According to latest Northern Ireland crime figures released in May 2008, sexual offences increased by 1.1 per cent last year. However, figures also show an 11.4 per cent drop in reported rapes.