A third of young men in Germany think violence against women is 'acceptable,' study finds

A third of young men in Germany find it acceptable to use violence against women, according to a new survey which has caused outrage among gender equality campaigners.

The survey was commissioned by children's charity Plan International Germany. Its findings were published in regional newspaper Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung.

A group of 1,000 men and 1,000 women aged 18-35 from across Germany were asked to give their views on masculinity for the study, which was carried out online.

34% of men from that age bracket admitted to being violent towards their female partner in the past, to "instil respect in them." 33% said they thought it was acceptable if their "hand slipped" occasionally during an argument with their partner.

Exploring attitudes to victim-blaming and double standards, the survey found that 50% of men said they would not want a relationship with a woman who had had many sexual partners, while 20% of the women interviewed agreed with this statement.

The survey also found that expectations within a relationship differed greatly between men and women.

Just over half of men - 52% - wanted a relationship in the form of a "breadwinner-housewife model," where they earned most of the money for the household and childcare and household tasks were primarily the woman's role.