” LWhen they say no, they mean yes. » Although in decline in the general population, sexist stereotypes and the culture of rape remain anchored in almost a quarter of 18-24 year olds, undoubtedly under the influence of pornography, according to a published survey Tuesday. Some 11% of respondents, all generations combined, believe that “when you try to have sex with them, many women say no but that means yes”, according to this survey carried out by Ipsos for the Traumatic memory and victimology association.
This proportion is down compared to similar surveys carried out in 2015 (it reached 19%) then 2019 (17%). But it still reaches 23% when only young people aged 18 to 24 are questioned, and even 34% among young men, is alarmed by psychiatrist Muriel Salmona, president of this association which fights against sexual violence. Similarly, 23% of young people think that “many women take pleasure in being forced” and 36% that they enjoy “being humiliated and insulted”. “There is in this young generation a very important problem with the notion of consent”, analyzes Dr. Salmona, who evokes a “porn generation”.
Early exposure to pornography involved?
These “worrying figures” can indeed be explained by the fact that “this age group has been the most exposed from childhood to pornographic content, with content that is often violent and degrading towards women and an eroticization of hatred and violence,” she adds. Moreover, for 34% of 18-24 year olds (compared to 19% of all respondents), “pornography is a means like any other to do sex education”. And only 59% of young men aged 18-24 (against 82% for all respondents) consider as rape the fact of “forcing your partner to have sex when she refuses”.
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In addition, more than half of 18-24 year olds are inclined to doubt the words of the victims: 52% consider it “common to accuse a person of rape out of romantic disappointment or to take revenge” (compared to 37% for all respondents). This generation is also more inclined to “mitigating the responsibility of the aggressors when the woman is under the influence of drugs or alcohol”. So many “myths” about rape which “feed a tolerance towards violent sexual behavior and guarantee them almost total impunity”, regrets the association of Dr. Salmona.
Ipsos survey carried out in November 2021 among a sample of 1,035 people representative of the French population aged 18 and over, questioned by Internet, quota method.