A new campaign to combat domestic violence has revealed some worrying attitudes among young people about what is acceptable in a relationship.
Three thousand 12 to 24-year-olds were interviewed as part of a campaign being launched in Sydney today called The Line.
The survey found one in three young people believed “exerting control over someone is not a form of violence”.
Questionnaires revealed one in four people did not think it was serious if a man who was normally gentle slapped his girlfriend when he was drunk.
One in six respondents believed women should know their place, and one in four thought it was normal for men to pressure women into sex.
The campaign’s ambassador, former AFL player Luke Ablett, said he was shocked.
“That’s borderline rape. So that is a really concerning thing that that’s how young boys and young girls are entering into their first sexual experiences, where they think its normal to pressure or force someone into that,” he said.
Children getting misinformation from porn, pop culture
The research was carried out by Hall and Partners Open Mind and commissioned by Our Watch, the national foundation to prevent violence against women and their children.
Chair of Our Watch Natasha Stott Despoja said the report showed parents were not talking to their children about relationships and sex.
“Young people desperately want information and guidance from people they look up to, especially parents and teachers,” she said.
“Instead they get information from their friends, pornography, media and popular culture role models.
“These settings can perpetuate gender stereotypes and condone and encourage violence.”
Mr Ablett said the problem was compounded by the number of young people accessing pornography at a young age.
“A lot of the porn that young people are accessing is really violent, is really degrading, it’s very much about male dominance,” he said.