Research in Brief
Attitudes Related to Gender-Based Violence and #MeToo in Canada

This brief is based on the report entitled: Attitudes Related to Gender-Based Violence and #MeToo in Canada (PDF) written by Earnscliffe Strategy Group, prepared for Women and Gender Equality Canada^{Footnote 1}.

Background

In late 2017, the #MeToo movement spread across social media, raising awareness and seeking justice for workplace sexual harassment. What began as a hashtag campaign calling out powerful men in Hollywood for sexual harassment soon developed into a worldwide viral phenomenon exposing systemic gender-based violence and inequality across all levels of society.

In an effort to understand #MeToo’s impact in Canada, the public opinion research (POR) report produced by the Earnscliffe Strategy Group in 2019, contains the results of a quantitative study on Canadians’ perceptions of gender-based violence (GBV), gender equality (GE), violence and harassment in the workplace and social movements like #MeToo. It includes important findings related to awareness and attitudes of respondents related to the #MeToo movement and other social responses to gender inequality.

Method

Earnscliffe Strategy Group used a quantitative approach to meet these objectives, using both online and telephone modes of data collection, with a total of 2,244 Canadians aged 18 or older. A questionnaire was developed, and quotas were set to reflect Canada’s regional demographics.

The timeframe of the online survey was from May 21, 2019 to June 3, 2019 (Atlantic Canada, Quebec, Ontario, the Prairies, Alberta and British Columbia), while the telephone survey was conducted from May 21, 2019 to June 6, 2019 (Territories). Participation in the survey was voluntary and respondents were able to opt out of answering any questions at any time.

Given the constraints of this POR, some key demographics in Canada were omitted from its scope. For example, homeless populations were not contacted via telephone or online survey. Furthermore, youth populations who fall under the 18-years-or-older parameter were not factored into the methodology.

It is important to note that the results from this survey cannot be considered as being representative of the Canadian population but rather representative of the perceptions and attitudes of the people who responded to the survey.

Key Findings

The report’s key findings were divided into the following sections:

• Top of mind issues: Women respondents expressed more concern than men about sexual harassment (75% vs 55%), sexual assault (79% vs 63%), and gender equality (61% vs 43%). Respondents living in low income households were more likely to be extremely concerned about these issues.
• Attitudes about sexual assault and sexual harassment: 72% of respondents agreed that sex requires verbal consent. 60% said intimate touching required verbal consent, and 40% of respondents said kissing requires consent. There was a disparity between men and women respondents on this issue: 67% of women believing consent for intimate touching should be verbal, compared to 53% of men; and 78% of women believing sex requires verbal consent, compared to 65% of men. Respondents were concerned about women being sexually assaulted (83%) and harassed (82%). Similarly, men and women respondents were concerned about transgender women being assaulted or harassed (62% and 63% respectively), transgender men being assaulted or harassed (58% and 59% respectively) and men being sexually assaulted or harassed (50% and 49% respectively). Overall, respondents were concerned men would be falsely accused of sexual assault (71%) or harassment (72%). Meanwhile, respondents said women might be falsely accused of sexual assault (50%) and harassment (51%).
• Familiarity and attitudes towards #MeToo: 74% of women respondents said that they were very or somewhat familiar with the #MeToo movement, compared to 67% of men. Furthermore the #MeToo movement was very familiar among respondents aged 18-24 years (31%) and 25-34 years (29%) compared to those aged 55-64 years (20%) or 65 years or older (16%). Moreover, respondents who self-identified as gay or lesbian (36%), or bisexual (35%), were very familiar compared to respondents who self-identified as heterosexual (23%).
• #MeToo in the workplace: 48% of respondents agreed that #MeToo has changed the way they interact with women coworkers while 46% said #MeToo has changed the way they interact with men coworkers. 41% of respondents agreed with the statement that ‘#MeToo has changed how seriously sexual harassment is treated in the workplace’, 22% were neutral and 16% disagreed. Furthermore, men were more likely than women to agree with this statement (48% vs 34%).
• Sexual assault, sexual harassment and the justice system: The report found that there was some uncertainty about the efficacy of the Canadian justice system’s handling of sexual assault: 60% of respondents believed the police take cases of sexual assault seriously, while only 43% agree that they investigate most cases.
• Awareness of federal initiatives: Very few respondents (3% of women and 2% of men) said they were familiar with federal programs to combat GBV, while 70% of respondents said they were unaware of any initiatives.

Respondents believed that #MeToo has resulted in several other positive outcomes, including:

• A better understanding of sexual consent (65%) – more women (70%) than men (60%) agree.
• Less shame associated with reporting sexual harassment or assault (65%).
• Canadians are now more likely to seek consent prior to engaging in sexual activity (58%). Note that men are more likely to agree with this statement than women (62% vs. 55%).
• Victims are more likely to be believed (57%).

However, there were some issues upon which respondents were divided. Men often feel more strongly than women respondents that #MeToo has had some negative impacts:

• 44% of men respondents, compared to 31% of women, think the #MeToo movement had increased the number of false reports of sexual assault to police.
• Just over half of men respondents (53%) compared to 39% of women agree the #MeToo movement has made it harder to know the difference between flirting and sexual harassment.
• Slightly less than half (42%) of men respondents agree that #MeToo has made the issues of sexual harassment and sexual assault seem like much bigger problems than they actually are, compared to under a third of women (27%).

Policy and Program Implications

As outlined in It’s Time: Canada’s Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence, the promotion of a responsive legal and justice system is a key pillar of Canada’s gender-based violence policy. The #MeToo movement directly challenged societal norms concerning sexual assault and harassment, ultimately bringing many powerful and influential figures before the court systems. That said, this report makes clear that some Canadians express skepticism about the justice system’s ability to handle systemic sexual assault and harassment. Furthermore, work such as knowledge mobilization and public awareness are necessary to further address attitudes about gender-based violence.

The findings in Earnscliffe Strategy Group’s POR complement recent publications from Statistics Canada, such as the Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces (SSPPS) and the Survey on Individual Safety in the Postsecondary Student Population (SISPSP). These two surveys help contextualize the scope of sexual assault and harassment in Canada and fill data gaps on different populations, including but not limited to, women and girls, LGBTQ2 people, Indigenous women and girls, persons living in northern, rural or isolated areas, persons living with disabilities, racialized people and immigrants. These Statistics Canada publications also offer crucial insights about Canadians’ attitudes towards sexual assault, gender equality, intimate partner violence, gender identity and sexual orientation.