Women are more likely than men to think cat-calling is acceptable, the British Social Attitudes survey has found.

Figures from the study show that while 61 per cent of men think it is “always” or “usually” wrong for a man to comment on a woman’s appearance in the street, just 52 per cent of women agree.

When the genders are reversed, around the same proportion of women think it is wrong for a woman to comment on a man’s appearance, while just 35 per cent of men agree.

The study, carried out by the National Centre for Social Research, also found that middle-aged men were more likely than men aged 18-34 to say that telling a woman in the street that she looked gorgeous was wrong.

Among men aged 55 to 64, 66 per cent said this was wrong, compared to 59 per cent of 18 to 34-year-olds.

“In general people are more strongly opposed to comments about women’s appearance than comments about men’s, and this is particularly true of men and younger women.

“This may reflect women’s more frequent exposure to remarks about their appearance, especially for young women.

“It might also be indicative of heightened awareness of the issues among men and/or a view that women are more likely to feel threatened and so to deserve protection,” the study concluded.