‘Sizeable minority’ of Scottish school boys hold sexist views, survey finds

A third of secondary school boys in Scotland believe girls who wear revealing clothing are “asking for trouble”, according to a survey from researchers at the University of Glasgow and first reported by The Times.

The study surveyed 13,372 pupils aged 11 to 18 at 37 schools across the country. Researchers said they found a strong gender divide in attitudes to sexual harassment and gender roles.

Among boys, 33% agreed or strongly agreed with the claim about clothing. The researchers said this was particularly concerning and reflected a culture that underpins victim blaming in cases of harassment.

Kirstin Mitchell, professor of social sciences and public health at the University of Glasgow, said the scale of the survey revealed “general culture” issues behind violence against women and girls.

She told The Times: “This is the kind of attitude which is underlying when incidents of sexual harassment do happen. These are the sort of norms that underpin victim blaming.”

According to the report, 24% of boys believed “sexual harassment” did not apply if the behaviour was intended as a joke, compared with 7% of girls. Almost half the boys surveyed also agreed or strongly agreed that “there are more things that boys are better at than girls”, despite 93% expecting equal opportunities in their lives.

Mitchell added: “Most boys do not hold these negative views, but there is an urgent need to address the fact that a sizeable minority do.”

The research also found that 43% of boys believed “boys who behave like girls are weak”, compared with 13% of girls. 

The findings were published in a letter in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, and follow national debate sparked by the Netflix drama Adolescence, which explores misogyny and social media in teenage relationships.