The disease which continues to spread in Africa is currently classified by the UN health body as a public health emergency of international concern
world3 days ago
One in four men in Finland under the age of 35 believe women may be deserving of violence due to behaviour or how they dress, a survey published Tuesday showed.
The Coalition of Finnish Women's Associations (Nytkis) that had commissioned the survey about men's attitudes towards violence against women called the findings "alarming".
According to the survey, which queried over a thousand men in Finland between the ages of 18 and 79, one in four men under the age of 35 believed that a woman "may deserve violence because of the way she dresses, looks or behaves."
Counting all age groups, every fifth man responded the same.
"Our research shows that while not all men accept violence against women, far too many men are worryingly tolerant of it. Men normalise violence against women through their attitudes," Silla Kakkola, chair of Nytkis and Finland's Violence Observatory said in a press release.
"We have a lot to change in these attitudes, and men themselves have a key role to play," she added.
However, the results were in some respects incoherent: while 21 per cent of men responded that women can be deserving of violence, 90 percent said at the same time that violence against women is always wrong.
A majority also recognised men should shoulder a greater responsibility in ending the violence.
Finland's Prime Minister Petteri Orpo reacted to the report by stating that "violence against women is a disgrace to the Finnish society."
"Society as a whole must work to change these distorted and dangerous attitudes and eradicate violence against women", he wrote in a post to Instagram, calling for "men to bear responsibility".
Finland is one of the most unsafe countries for women in the EU, according to surveys and official statistics.
Half of women aged 16-25 have been victims of physical violence, threats of violence or sexual violence and one in five have experienced serious violence or rape, Finland's statistics agency said in a press release also published Tuesday.
"In Finland, the experience of violence is very common both within and outside relationships," said Marjut Pietilainen, a special researcher at Statistics Finland.
"Young women in particular stand out as a group that experiences a lot of violence in different areas of life," she added.
The disease which continues to spread in Africa is currently classified by the UN health body as a public health emergency of international concern
world3 days ago
The strike on an apartment killed nine people including a Hezbollah commander, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said
world3 days ago
The US national Tsunami Centre said no Tsunami warning was issued
world3 days ago
Hundreds of demonstrators defied a ban on demonstrations, chanting demands for an end to violence in Gaza and 'Free Palestine'
world4 days ago
Houthi militants have launched attacks on international shipping near Yemen since November last year
world4 days ago
According to reports, Doha has withdrawn as a key mediator in negotiating a Gaza ceasefire
world5 days ago
The United States has accused Iran of conspiring to assassinate the president-elect
world5 days ago
There were no reports of major damage or casualties and no tsunami warnings were issued
world5 days ago