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One-fourth of Asian men admit to having raped a woman, according to a United Nations survey of six countries in the region released on Tuesday.
In Papua New Guinea, some 62 per cent of the men interviewed admitted to engaging in nonconsensual sex, according to the UN study.
“The findings re-affirmed that violence against women is pervasive in this region,” said Emma Fulu, the main researcherin the study.
“And violence is fundamentally related to gender inequality.” The report, entitled ' Why Do Some Men Use Violence Against Women and How Can We Prevent It?' , was based on interviews conducted in 2010-13 with 10,000 men and 3,000 women in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Papua New Guinea.
It provided detailed data on male violence against women and the attitudes that motivated them.
The Asia-Pacific region was chosen for the first such report chiefly because the UN has many existing programs dealing with violence against women based in Asia.
The results also showed high levels of physical or sexual violence against spouses and partners, ranging from 26 per cent of the respondents in Indonesia to 80 per cent in Papua New Guinea.
Among the acknowledged rapists, the most common motivation cited was a sense of sexual entitlement.
“Although alcohol is often assumed to be a common trigger for violence perpetration, it was the least common response given by men,” the study said.
The report also attempted to examine male rape.
In Bangladesh, China and Indonesia, some 2 per cent of the men interviewed reported having raped another man, while in Sri Lanka and Cambodia the average was 3-4 per cent. In Papua New Guinea, the finding was 8 per cent.
Papua New Guinea was found to have a relatively low level of gender equality, a lack of legislation against rape and recent conflicts that have led to acceptance of violence, Fulu said.
Recommendations included changing social norms related to the acceptability of the subordination of women, and ending impunity for men who rape.
Some 72 to 97 per cent of the men who had admitted to rape had not experienced any legal consequences, the report found.
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