23.9% say rape victims provoke with dress

(ANSA) - Rome, November 25 - Some 23.9% of Italians in an ISTAT survey on gender violence think women bring rape on themselves because of the way they dress, the statistics agency said Monday.
    And 39.3% of the Italian population think that a woman can avoid rape if she really wants to, the survey said.
    Further, some 15.1% think that if a woman is raped while under the influence of drink or drugs is at least partly responsible, the survey said.
    Some 6.2% of Italians say 'serious' women "don't get raped".
    Some 7.2% say women often say no when they mean yes to a sexual proposal, and 10.3% of the population (12.7% men and 7.9% of women) say rape accusations are "usually false".
    Only 1.9% think it is not rape if a man forces his partner to have sex against her will.
    For another 7.4% of the sample, ISTAT said, it is acceptable for a man to slap his girlfriend for flirting with another man, and a further 6.2% say slaps are a normal part of being together.
    Sardinia (15.2%) and Val d'Aosta (17.4%) are the regions with the lowest thresholds of tolerance towards gender violence while Abruzzo (38.1% and Campania (35%) are the highest.
    Men and women differed "significantly" in their opinion on the issues, ISTAT said.
    The report was entitled Stereotypes On Gender Roles and the Social Image of Sexual Violence.