ANROWS survey shows one in three think women use sex assault claims to get back at men [Video]

The research organisation’s chief executive, Padma Raman, said while the shift in attitudes towards sexual violence was pleasing, the data showed “we still have a long way to go in correcting victim-blaming attitudes and rape myths”.

Loading

Despite consent activism by women including Chanel Contos, who campaigned to improve consent education, one in four people believe that when a man is very sexually aroused, “he may not realise that the woman doesn’t want to have sex”.

“These attitudes rationalise men’s aggressive sexual behaviour and disregard the need to gain consent due to the perception that it is biologically difficult for men to regulate their sexual behaviour,” the report said.

It noted “backlash” attitudes had arisen since 2017. In that year, the #MeToo movement went global after revelations about repeated sexual harassment by film producer Harvey Weinstein, who was convicted of rape.

Researchers said evidence of backlash included that 41 per cent of respondents agreed “many women mistakenly interpret …