More than 31 per cent of boys aged 13-17 believe that attempts to give equal opportunities to women in Australia have gone too far. 

The University of Melbourne’s Dr Sara Meger published the government-funded report Misogyny, Online Radicalisation, and Youth Extremism in Australia, on 18 August. The research showed that the 1122 young Australians surveyed are more likely to express misogynistic gender attitudes than adults. More than 500 school teachers also shared their front line experiences with misogyny and extremism in classrooms. 

The study shows that many young Australians hold concerning attitudes towards women, with 1 in 3 teenage boys expressing misogynistic attitudes, mistrust of women and a belief of ‘traditional gender roles’. 

30.1 per cent of boys aged 13-17 also believed that men have more of a right to a job than women when jobs are scarce, and 24.7 per cent believed feminism is damaging to our society and should be resisted with violence if necessary. 

‘Of everything we measured, these hostile views were the single strongest predictor of support for violent extremism,’ Dr Meger said.

These attitudes are not just held by young men. Gen Z women are twice as likely as Millennial women, and four times as likely as Gen X women, to agree that marriage entitles a husband to sex with his wife even if she does not want to.

‘Engagement with ‘manosphere’ content, pornography and online dating showed the strongest links to misogynistic views,’ Dr Meger said. 

Teach Us Consent’s Chanel Contos said that ‘this research reflects what we see through our work with young people. Our social media feeds and algorithms have become fertile ground for content that promotes violence against women and girls, and we’re seeing the consequences unfold in schools and communities across the country’.

The study happened to be published the same week of the Sydney Swans sexual assault allegations and three boys charged with sexual assault of 14 year old girl in Sydney. 

Image source: ABC