One in three boys believes some women deserve to be hit and two out of three believe women provoke the violence in some way, according to new research to be published later this week. One in three boys believes some women deserve to be hit and two out of three believe women provoke the violence in some way, according to new research to be published later this week. The disturbing beliefs of children aged 11 to 16 comes hard on the heels of a study last year which revealed that half of all young men aged 16 to 21 think rape is acceptable in certain circumstances and one in four of them believed it was OK to hit a woman.The new study, by researchers at the Universities of Warwick, Bristol, Durham and North London, shows attitudes towards violence on women are formed at an early age - prompting calls for the issue to be tackled in schools as part of the national curriculum.Professor Audrey Mullender, who led the research team said: "I think it is profoundly worrying that so many teenage boys in particular still believe that women bring men's violence upon themselves and fail to understand that domestic violence is a crime. We owe it to children to extend work in schools into teaching girls that they have a right to be safe and boys that they have a responsibility not to abuse women and children. Our study shows that even primary school would not be too early to tackle the issue."The study, to be published on Wednesday, explored the attitudes of more than 1,300 children and young people aged 8 to 16. Surprisingly 20 per cent of girls aged 11 to 14 also thought some women deserved to be struck, although as they got older, fewer teenage girls thought it acceptable.Just under 30 per cent of children reported that they knew someone who had experienced domestic violence. And an in-depth interview with 45 children who had witnessed it first hand showed that they were far less likely to excuse the abuser and blame the woman, although younger children would look for excuses, such as "It was the drugs", "He was drunk".Older children demonstrated a more sophisticated understanding of the problem "He controlled her. He thought it was OK to treat her like shit and hit her and beat her all the time.

He did not think it wrong," said a 15-year-old.Professor Mullender said: "Our research shows the need for much greater understanding of domestic violence. It should not be just those children who have experienced it first hand, who can say confidently, as one did to our researchers: 'They have no right to hit women If they want to hit someone they should go into boxing.'". Police forces are cashing in on the buoyant housing market by selling off thousands of homes previously used by serving officers. Tens of millions of pounds have been made - despite warnings that lack of subsidised police houses will make it even more difficult to attract new recruits. Police forces are cashing in on the buoyant housing market by selling off thousands of homes previously used by serving officers.

Tens of millions of pounds have been made - despite warnings that lack of subsidised police houses will make it even more difficult to attract new recruits. The rush to sell has reached such a pitch that more than two-thirds of the Metropolitan Police's stock of homes have been sold, while Sussex has netted £22m from sales.Last month the Prime Minister admitted to the House of Commons that there was a recruitment problem, and pledged to do everything possible to overcome it. Yet yesterday the Home Office said it would not ban the sales.The highest level of sales is in London, but other forces around the country have seen the opportunity to raise extra millions. The Northants force has sold 64 of its 140 police homes, raising £3.7m; a spokeswoman said the money had gone back into policing. The force hopes to raise £5m more by selling the rest by 2005.Greater Manchester has disposed of 363 houses. In Highgate, north London, the Met is currently selling off Mansfield Heights, a £6m estate of 45 police homes.Now Conservative members of the new London Assembly are demanding an end to the sell-offs, which were introduced in 1992 at a time when clustered police accommodation provided an obvious target for the IRA and when property prices were much lower. Before 1994, police officers were entitled to either free accommodation or a housing allowance.Bob Neil, the assembly's Conservative group leader, said: "It makes no sense to continue this policy at a time when it is becoming increasingly hard to attract new recruits to London and other major cities because of living costs."Surplus housing stock is first offered to the officers in residence before being advertised to the general public.

But, with no kind of discount, most officers cannot afford to buy at market value. A two-bedroom maisonette in Mansfield Heights, for example, is on sale for £125,000. A new owner would have to spend thousands of pounds more on refurbishment.Peter Forrest, a Conservative councillor for Highgate, said: "I was recently canvassing on this particular estate when it became apparent that nobody was living there. An officer eventually came down to see me and explained that virtually all 45 properties were empty because they were being flogged off at a price beyond most police officers."I was astounded because I had only just heard Tony Blair wringing his hands over the problem of recruiting new officers in London."Latest figures reveal that, for every new officer recruited by the Met, another three are leaving. The Home Secretary, Jack Straw, recently announced that new recruits would be offered an annual bonus of £3,000 on top of their £18,500 starting salary in an effort to end the manpower crisis.Even with a mortgage of three times salary, however, the average constable would have only half the cost of one of Mansfield Heights' modest homes in an area where houses often go for £500,000.Ann-Marie Manning, the wife of a police constable who lives at Mansfield Heights, said the community was now a "ghost town". Mrs Manning, who has lived on the estate for nine years, said she had lost many police friends who had been forced to leave because their short-term tenancies had run out and they could not afford to buy their homes.A Home Office spokesman said: "Police homes are no longer required. The way forward now is to ensure that officers have enough money for housing from their salaries.".