Nearly as shocking as the topline result is the sample. Fully two-thirds of the respondents were women.

Brazilian newspaper Folha de S. Paulo reported a survey released this week by the government’s Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA), found that most Brazilian – about 65 – percent agree that it is justified to rape women “wearing clothes showing their bodies.”

About 58 percent of respondents also agreed that “if women knew how to behave, there would be fewer rapes.”…

The study also showed that 91 percent of Brazilians agree that “a man beating his wife has to go to jail” while 82 percent disagree with the statement that “a woman who gets beaten at home should be quiet to not harm the children.”

Folha de S. Paulo reported that the study concluded that in regards to sexual violence, “most people still consider women as responsible for the behavior due to wearing of provocative clothing or ‘inappropriate’ behavior” and yet they believe physical violence is not tolerated.

Like most Americans, my knowledge of Brazil consists mainly of Carnival, beaches, and a hot climate (and soccer, of course). I assumed showing your body was just part of the dress code for both sexes.

Here’s the poll data for those who can read Portuguese. The excerpt is misleading in one respect: Apparently, the 65 percent figure includes people who “partially” believe that rape is justified depending upon what a woman’s hearing. What that means precisely, I have no idea. (Also no idea: How much or little clothing constitutes provocativeness.) Maybe they think rapists deserve to be prosecuted but that the victims share moral blame if they’re showing off? In that case, do the people who “wholly” believe rape is justified in those circumstances think rapists should … walk scot free? I don’t get the distinction either between physical violence, which is a fairly strict no-no in the poll, and sexual violence. What do these people imagine goes on during rape? What am I missing here?

Lest you think English-language media is distorting the results of the survey, there was sufficient outrage at the poll in Brazil itself to kickstart a social-media campaign. Result: Many more photos on Twitter and Facebook of Brazilian women taking it all off to prove a point.