Thirty-three percent of French women say they had sex when they did not feel like it, citing the insistence of their partner. And more than a third of them (37%) testify to having already experienced a situation of sexual non-consent. Opposite, only 12% of men admit to having insisted on a sexual relationship when they knew that their partner did not want it. These are some of the key figures from the second annual barometer on sexism made public on Monday, January 23, by the High Council for Equality (HCE) between women and men.
The independent advisory body, responsible for guiding the government’s policy on equality, relies both on this representative survey (conducted online among 2,500 people by the Viavoice institute) and on its expertise to present its fifth inventory of sexism in France. The objective is twofold: to understand the perception and reaction of our society to gender inequalities, and to document the lived ” terrible ” women.
“Very entrenched sexist behaviors”
Many scenarios, ranging from ordinary sexism to sexual violence, are reviewed. Beyond non-consent, a novelty for this edition, the responses relating to sexual violence are in line with previous surveys, and confirm their extent: 14% of women say they have suffered “forced sexual act”rape or sexual assault, a percentage that rises to 22% among those aged 18 to 24.
As it already did last year, the HCE points to ambivalence. “This barometer shows both an opinion that is globally agreed on equal rights, aware of the fight against sexism and violence against women, and at the same time it reveals very entrenched behaviors of sexism, in particular among women. young men “analyzes Sylvie Pierre-Brossolette, its president.
The gap in perception according to the gender of the respondents is recurrent throughout the barometer. He expresses himself in an almost caricatural way on certain issues; when 77% of women consider it sexist for a man to comment on a woman’s dress, the rate of positive responses drop of 20 points in the male sex. Another example: is it problematic for a woman to cook for her family every day? Yes, answer 49% of women and… 37% of men.
According to Maïder Beffa, associate director of the Viavoice institute, “the answers reveal a form of male indifference to situations of ordinary sexism as well as a difficulty for men to accept collective responsibility”.
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