Almost one in 10 Albertan men say it’s OK to physically assault a woman

Words fail.

On the one hand, some of the responses are cause for optimism — for example, 56 per cent of men say they are more aware of domestic violence issues than they were five years ago, and 91 per cent say they would intervene if they knew someone in a violent relationship.

Some of the other results, however, are more disturbing. Fifty-two per cent of men surveyed said they believe a woman can leave a violent relationship if she really wants to, while only 52 per cent disagreed with the statement, “If a woman wears provocative clothing, she’s putting herself at risk for rape.”

Thirteen per cent of the survey respondents said domestic violence is not as serious if it results from people getting so angry they temporarily lose control. And eight per cent, nearly one in 10 of the men surveyed, did not agree that it’s never acceptable to physically assault a woman if she did something to incite the anger.