Labor pledges action as survey reveals how many young NSW men admit to sexually harassing women

More than a quarter of young New South Wales men who participated in a recent survey agreed that “men should use violence to get respect if necessary”, and over one-third admitted to sexually harassing a woman in the past month. The findings came from the NSW Man Box report, commissioned by the Minns government and released on Monday. They have prompted the Minns government to direct $3.5m, from a $38m funding pool announced last year aimed at preventing domestic and family violence, into campaigns specifically targeting men and boys and issues around relationships, isolation and pornography. Sign up: AU Breaking News email The report extracted NSW-specific data from a 2024 report by Jesuit Social Services that examined the same issue nationwide. The findings in NSW matched the nationwide trends found in last year’s report. The survey examined “what it means to be a man in Australia”. It asked 1,200 men aged 18 to 30 a series of questions to shed light on how male attitudes towards masculinity influences domestic, family and sexual violence. Related: Australia’s gen Z men more likely to hold sexist views, data shows, as ‘manosphere’ influences take hold The survey, conducted by Jesuit Social Services, found that most men in NSW do not cling to damaging stereotypes around what it means to be a man. However, half of those surveyed reported feeling pressure to conform to those stereotypes. These stereotypes, referred to in the report as the “man box”, include appearing tough and in control, hyper-sexuality, homophobia, and a belief in rigid gender roles. The report found that men surveyed who did strongly agree with these stereotypes are more likely to commit acts of abuse. They were seven times likely to perpetrate intimate partner violence, and 10 times more likely to commit sexual violence. They also reported higher rates of drinking and gambling problems, and poorer mental health. Additionally, 18% of those surveyed admitted to “frequent” sexual harassing of women, and more than half had viewed violent pornography in the past six months. “The data released today is a reminder that exposure to violent and degrading content is shaping how too many young people, particularly young men, see relationships and sex,” said Jodie Harrison, the NSW minister for the prevention of domestic violence and sexual assault. “If we don’t step in early, those harmful attitudes can lead to behaviours that cause real harm.” Of the $3.5m funding announced in response to the report, $2m will go to grants programs that help young people build healthy relationships and address feelings of isolation. The rest will go to resources to help parents and caregivers on how to speak to their kids about pornography use. Michael Flood, a gender and sexuality expert at the Queensland University of Technology, said the number of men who adhere to stereotypical masculine attitudes had slightly decreased over the past five years. He said more funding is needed to help keep that progress on track, but what’s been promised will help. “Most men in Australia don’t ever use domestic or sexual violence against women,” he said. “But these are not the problems of a tiny minority of mad, bad men. They’re actually problems of a significant minority of men, including men that you know and that are in our lives.”