OVER a quarter of young adults in Ireland believe that men should be head of the household, according to the latest report.
A new research project on attitudes towards gender equality - The Gender Matters 2019 report - showed that a number of people continue to hold traditional views about gender roles in Ireland.
While 26% of young people under 25 believe a man should be the head of a household, a smaller proportion of young adults believe that men should earn more than women in order to support a family.
One-fifth of young people in the same age group believe a man should drive the car even if both the man and the woman have a licence.
The research was carried out by Safe Ireland, a national agency working to end domestic abuse and coercive control.
It showed that 17% of people believe that household chores like cooking and cleaning should be done by women.
17% of people think domestic chores should be done by womenThe report also indicates that "lad culture" is very prevalent in Irish society, with younger women in particular regarding group macho or 'lad' behaviour as a serious and often intimidating issue that they face regularly.
A relatively high number of people also indicated that women are partially to blame for a lack of respect towards them and even for the abuse that they receive, with 25% of those surveyed saying they believe that domestic violence should remain a private matter.
16% of young adults say that women provoke abuse against themselves, while older men consider 'lad culture' merely as "natural jostling and bravado", while many of them suggest that young men can be vulnerable to the way girls dress and act.
"This research is a bit of a wake-up call to any cosy notion that Ireland’s new generation has moved beyond macho or jock culture," said Caitriona Gleeson, Programme and Communications Manager with Safe Ireland.
"It is indicating that we need to re-think the way we are talking to our young people about respect and equality. It also indicates that the views and actions of parents and older role-models may be reinforcing rigid views about home and societal positioning for men and women."
"We are seeing evidence of excusing and minimising of gendered behaviour," she continued. "This is most concerning because we know from international research that there is a strong intersection between attitudes towards gender equality and the risk and prevalence of gender-based abuse and coercive control.
"Instead we should be to be daring to imagine that we can rear a generation that lives without experiencing violence in their homes. This has to start with the way we think about and act on gender equality in our homes and communities."
You can view the report in full by clicking here.
