A third of Maltese think women often invent rape claims

The Maltese are the second most likely in Europe, after Bulgarians, to think that women often exaggerate rape and abuse claims.

This emerges from a Eurobarometer on gender stereotypes and violence against women held in all EU member states, which shows that 32% of Maltese respondents agree with the statement that women “often make up or exaggerate claims of abuse or rape.”

The Maltese were second only to Bulgarians (34%) in expressing agreement with a statement that reinforces prejudice against women who find the courage to denounce abusers.

Moreover, the Maltese (56%) were the least likely in the EU to disagree with this troubling statement.

The level of disagreement with this statement ranges from 56% in Malta to 85% in Spain.

On average, across the EU, 73% disagree with this statement.

In a more positive development, only 2% of Maltese justify rape when this takes place within a relationship, in contrast to 4% of all EU respondents.

The share disagreeing with the statement that “a husband or boyfriend can have sex with his wife or girlfriend without her consent” ranges from 85% in Denmark to 97% in Luxembourg and Malta.

But the survey also shows that more than a tenth of Maltese do not completely subscribe to the “no means no” maxim. In fact, 13% of Maltese respondents agree that, faced with a sexual proposal, if a woman says “no,” she often means “yes” but is playing “hard to get.” While the vast majority of Maltese (81%) disagreed with this statement, the level of disagreement was lower than the European mean of 86%.

Moreover, while 69% of all EU respondents think the statement is completely unacceptable, the percentage who express the same opinion falls to 52% in Malta.

This is because a substantial 29% of Maltese respondents tend to disagree rather than completely disagree with the statement.

Moreover, 20% of Maltese believe that if a woman suffers sexual violence while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, she is at least partially responsible for what happens to her.

The same view is expressed by 16% of all EU respondents. Agreement with this statement ranged from 46% in Latvia to just 9% in Denmark and Sweden.

Majority blame women for online abuse

55% of Maltese participating in the survey think that women who share intimate pictures online with someone else are partly to blame if their photos are shared on the internet without their consent.

This victim-blaming viewpoint is shared by 43% of all EU respondents surveyed.

The total level of disagreement with the obnoxious statement was highest in Sweden (68%) and Germany (67%), while agreement was highest in Latvia (74%), followed by Lithuania (70%) and Czechia (68%).

Malta was one of 13 Member States where a majority of respondents are more likely to agree than to disagree with this statement.

Appallingly, 25% of Maltese also think that if women share their opinions on social media, they should accept that they elicit sexist, demeaning, or abusive replies.

72% of Maltese respondents disagreed. In contrast, respondents in Sweden (86%), closely followed by those in Germany (84%) and the Netherlands (83%), were the most likely to disagree with this statement.

Across the EU as a whole, 75% of respondents disagreed.

Cat-calling unacceptable in Malta

The Maltese are also slightly more permissive towards adverts showing sexualised imagery of women. While 59% of all EU citizens think this is unacceptable, the percentage falls to 52% in Malta.

And while 78% find it unacceptable for men to make suggestive comments or allusions about a female colleague’s appearance at work, the percentage falls to 76% in Malta.

But the Maltese are the most likely in Europe to think that it is unacceptable for men to body-gaze, ogle, catcall, or whistle at women.

This proportion ranges from 72% in Greece and Hungary to 88% in France and 89% in Malta.

96% of Maltese also find it unacceptable for a man to occasionally slap his wife or girlfriend.