Woman out partying in Denmark say they are often groped by strange men.
An unexpected pat on the bum, a stolen kiss or even a grabbed breast is far too often part of the experience for many women.
Crossing boundaries
Most women feel irritated or directly violated when a stranger touches them without their consent, according to a new TNS Gallup poll conducted for Berlingske.
“It is a widespread myth that women see it as a compliment,” Nina Groes, the head of Kvinfo – Denmark’s centre for gender, equality and diversity – told Berlingske. “This clearly shows that women feel their boundaries are being violated.”
More than half of all women aged between 18 and 35 said they had been touched involuntarily on a night out in Denmark.
Punk culture
Niels Ulrik, the head of the centre for youth research, Center for Ungdomsforskning, said the prevalence of young woman being groped is due to the rise of an online ‘punk culture’ in which young people are increasingly using things like revenge porn to bully each other.
“It is online bullying coming to life,” he said.
Groes said it was important to let young men know that women do not perceive being groped as a compliment.
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The boys don’t mind
Around 18 percent of the young men surveyed reported they had also been fondled while out on the town.
Unlike the women, the majority of men said they were indifferent to the groping or thought it was funny.
