Nearly half of Irish men say they would hit a woman, a poll conducted by JOE.ie has found.

Over 500 men responded to a poll on the men’s website which asked if they would strike a member of the opposite sex. A total of 259 men (45.77 percent) admitted they would hit a woman.

A total of 176 men who contributed to the online poll said they would only strike a member of the opposite sex in self-defense. 40 men said they would lash out if a woman hit them first, while 43 admitted they would hit a woman if she made them angry.

“We appreciate the honesty from the men of Ireland but the results are surprising,” said Nick Bradshaw, editor at JOE.ie.

“It’s clear that a large percentage of men are willing to take a domestic dispute that bit further, which is worrying,” he added.

However a significant minority (307) of those surveyed said they would never strike a woman under any circumstances.

“The slight majority are not willing to harm a woman but the overall figures are alarming,” added Nick.