Four in five women in Northern Ireland have admitted that their first experience of sexist behaviour or harassment by men happened when they were children.
That's according to a new survey today of women who had experienced staring, sexual comments, touching, catcalling, flashing and other behaviour that made them uncomfortable.
Kim McFalone, a PhD researcher at the University of Manchester, surveyed 211 women in Northern Ireland and found that 80% had first experienced this before the age of 17 – 25% experiencing it before the age of 11, and 55% when aged between 11 and 16 years.
The survey was carried out among women aged over 18, almost all of whom said they had experienced some form of harassment from men. The women were recruited online and through churches, women’s centres, community centres, libraries, district councils, political parties and sports clubs.
“I found it quite alarming that four out of five respondents first experienced behaviour from a man which made them feel uncomfortable as children, aged 16 or under,” Ms McFalone told the British Sociological Association’s annual conference in Manchester on Wednesday.
“Many interviewees noted they were harassed while they were in their school uniform, including a lot of catcalling from adult men in the street or inappropriate comments from adult men who they knew. There are obvious imbalanced power dynamics here because their age suggests a vulnerability and lack of confidence to challenge this behaviour.
“The other circumstance for unwanted behaviour was while they were working in their first part-time job as a teenager, with adult male customers making sexual or otherwise inappropriate comments to them while they were working. A young girl working her first job probably isn’t going to feel able to challenge this behaviour or speak to someone about it.”
Ms McFalone also carried out interviews with affected women. One told her she was 13 years old when she first was “cat-called in a school uniform” by “fully grown men”.
Another said: “I worked for a pizza place as my first job – surprisingly the worst sort of male attention I got, which was borderline illegal, was when I was 15.”
The study, which is ongoing, also found that almost half (47%) of the 221 women surveyed had, while children or adults, experienced flashing by a man, and 93% had been harassed by men wolf-whistling or cat-calling.
The research was carried out against a background of a gradual increase in violence against women since the end of the Troubles. Sexual violence has increased every year since 1998 and reached the highest recorded level in 2024. Northern Ireland has the second-highest levels of femicide in Europe.
https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/ni-women-reveal-experiencing-sexist-31487674
by whatacreepni
11 comments
Hi all
I posted on here previously for recruitment for my PhD research. I had quite a few people interested in the results and I’m able to share some early findings which some of you may have seen in the news recently.
I’m still recruiting for interviews for this project – I need 2 more women born between 1990-2000 and 10 more women born between 1960-1970. You can be a few years outside the age ranges and the only other criteria is that you identify as a woman and grew up in Northern Ireland.
The interviews will be asking about your experiences of unwanted behaviour from men – this is any behaviour directed at you by a man which makes you feel uncomfortable and which you would prefer didn’t happen.
If you want to take part in an interview or want more information (including the Participant Information Sheet!), please email me at kim.mcfalone@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk.
If you know anyone else who might be interested in taking part, feel free to share this with them (especially if they are from the 1960-1970 age group as this group is proving difficult to reach!)
Thank you so much to everyone who has participated so far, it is so appreciated!
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I find it more surprising that one out of five women made it to adulthood without experiencing sexist behaviour.
Sexist behaviour doesn’t always involve sexual harassment and I would wager that many girls were told not to do something because its for boys only at a pre-primary age. I am the only girl among my cousins at a similar age and whilst the family would always have treated us the same, outsiders didn’t. For example, people would see a big group of us children on a day out and offer if the boys would like to play football or something.
I remember as a schoolgirl walking down the street eating a packet of crisps and an older man stopping me in the street telling me not to eat them as it’ll make me fat ffs.
On my first communion day I had a man in his late 30s/early 40s, at the bar restaurant we were at afterwards, ask me if I “had a pettitcoat under there”, after telling me how gorgeous I was. I got nervous and ran back to my parents so I still don’t know why he’d have asked a question like that unless it was going to lead to something even creepier, but that’s my first instance I remember as a wean being around a man and thinking “this interaction just doesn’t feel right”
Does 211 have enough statistical power when you start breaking down the categories. Are these in person/zoom/phone interviews or are they questionnaire based?
Have you noticed any correlation with geographic areas or the deprivation index of each NI regions.
Is their any knock on effects of these experiences. Like are the 4/5 women more likely to experience any mental health issues as a potential result?
Yep about 12 yrs old, unfortunately I looked older as I was tall for my age and fully developed. However I was dandering home with my younger brother (it was summer holidays ,t-shirt weather,late 80s) and this man came up behind me and felt/pinched my bum. It scared and confused the life outta me, because the man woulda been in his 40s/50s. He looked back and winked at me. I didn’t understand it at all being 12 and not very worldlywise or streetwise either. I never saw that man again.
Unfortunately it was the beginning of many unwanted advances/behaviour over the years.
I was definitely a little child (maybe 6?) the first time I experienced sexual harassment but from other children. I was 11 the first time I was catcalled by a group of men, on halloween night, because my costume was a little too small, making it a short dress. They were drunk, I was terrified. I went home after that.
That is very sad to hear. I think they should do a bigger study, to get better statisitic on it. At least 1000 women.
I would say the numbers are similar for men
I’m honestly glad my 2 kids are male. They’re young men now and I’ve always instilled that they treat ladies with respect.
If I had a daughter/daughters and they were subject to this, I’d be in a police cell after finding out and addressing it.
As a dad, it’s scary to think 20 years ago it was somewhat acceptable for a grown ass man in a Transit van to roll down his window and wolf whistle to a child in a school uniform. Hopefully that shite’s knocked on the head. I dare say the Apprentice with the person doing it would turn to them these days and call them a pedo.
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