Quick hit: Bizarre British beliefs about hitting women

From the Times Online:

One in seven people believe it is acceptable in some circumstances for a man to hit his wife or girlfriend if she is dressed in “sexy or revealing clothes in public”, according to the findings of a survey released today.

A similar number believed that it was all right for a man to slap his wife or girlfriend if she is “nagging or constantly moaning at him”.

The findings of the poll, conducted for the Home Office, also disclosed about a quarter of people believe that wearing sexy or revealing clothing should lead to a woman being held partly responsible for being raped or sexually assaulted.

Although a majority of 1,065 people over 18 questioned last month believe that it is never acceptable to hit or slap a woman, the poll found that those aged 25-39 were more likely to consider that there were circumstances in which it was acceptable to hit or slap a woman.

Click through for the whole article, and a video clip.

The article also covers criticism of the British Government's "gimmicks" in relation to domestic violence, such as the serial domestic violence offenders database which Anna wrote about on the weekend.

Pith helmet tipped to commenter Mary Lou for raising this in comments.