This Morning viewers SLAM new survey that suggests women who wear short skirts are responsible for sexual assault

Viewers on the ITV show were not impressed with the survey results

This Morning

by Eden-Olivia Lord |
Published on

This Morning viewers were left fuming after Holly Willoughby and Phillip Scofield discussed the results of a shocking survey which found that a third of people believe that women are to blame for sexual assault if they're wearing a short skirt when drunk.

According to a survey undertaken between November and December 2015 by The Fawcett Society – a UK gender equality charity – 8,000 people were asked: "If a woman goes out late at night, wearing a short skirt, gets drunk and is then the victim of a sexual assault, is she totally or partly to blame?"

The results were definitely eye opening, as a third of men and women questioned believed that the woman is totally or partly to blame for sexual assault. It also found that 41% of men between the ages of 18-24 agree with the statement that women are to blame.

This Morning
The debate between Angela Epstein and Alison Phillips got very heated (Credit: ITV) ©ITV

Holly and Phil were joined in the studio by journalists Angela Epstein and Alison Phillips. While Angela argued that women have a personal responsibility to look after themselves, saying,“you are not to blame but you are not invincible, be careful,” Alison completely disagreed, arguing that we have to take sexual attraction away from rape.

And the debate didn't stay within the This Morning studio. Lots of people took to Twitter to register their shock at the results of the survey.

One tweeted: "It's 2017 an we're still having to explain to misogynists that a woman's dress code is not an excuse for sexual assault."

While another added: "Why do women need to keep themselves safe by thinking about their clothes? Men don't, and they get raped too!"

Another person wrote: "Should be looking at educating the people who actually sexually assault rather than blaming the victim"

Someone else argued: "A woman should not get ready for a night out and take into consideration that her outfit might get her raped."

Another This Morning viewer, tweeted: "Why is this even a debate? Short skirts don't cause rape. RAPISTS cause rape. End of."

The survey also found that 55% of women over 65-years-old were likely to blame the victim, compared to 48% of men in the same age group.

Chief Executive of Fawcett Society, Sam Smethers, spoke about the shocking results: “I can think of no other crime where we are so ready to blame the victim but here women are being held responsible for the behaviour of their attacker.

"It is quite extraordinary and reveals just how deep-seated our readiness to blame women runs within our culture."

What do you think of the survey results? Do you think women who get drunk and wear short skirts are partly to blame if they get assaulted? Let us know over on Facebook and Twitter.

You might also like to read...

Woman who was stabbed 32 times by ex is now engaged to the paramedic who saved her

This dog's face when he sees his owners on Facetime will warm your heart

Mum of autistic boy sets up blog to spread awareness

Just so you know, whilst we may receive a commission or other compensation from the links on this website, we never allow this to influence product selections - read why you should trust us