Fewer than three in five people say they would be likely to intervene if they suspected their male friend or neighbour was beating his wife, according to a poll published today.
The study is released at the start of Euro 2012, as concerns grow that there will be the now-traditional increase in domestic abuse which accompanies major football tournaments.
The YouGov poll published by Stonham, the UK's second largest provider of domestic violence support services, showed that almost one in four men (24%) think it is acceptable to joke about giving a woman "a good slap".
More than one in five men (23%) would be likely to speak up if they heard another man make a light-hearted comment about abusing their partner.
Stonham commissioned the poll to highlight issues around attitudes to domestic abuse, and to spotlight how the male view of women needs to be re-programmed to cut the number of violent crimes committed towards female spouses and partners.
The organisation is hosting a national conference today which will focus on providing a solution to the issue and will treat the cause of domestic violence as well as helping victims.
One of the conference's keynote speakers will be Tony Porter, co-founder of the A Call to Men charity in America, which runs programmes that teach men of all ages to respect women.
The courses include training scenarios that encourage fathers not to use phrases such as "don't be a girl" when a boy cries and husbands not to joke about hitting their wives.
Rachael Byrne, Stonham executive director, said: "Domestic violence destroys lives and devastates families and we see a significant spike in these crimes around the times of major football tournaments such as the Euros.
"The data polled for Stonham today shows the worrying truth, though, that a significant amount of people would turn a blind eye if one of their neighbours left the house with dark glasses covering a bruised eye, or worse, over the next month.
"Regrettably, we have become desensitised to language that undermines women in men's eyes. There is no such thing as 'a good slap', and we have to seriously question why it seems OK to denigrate girls by making them the emotional stick to beat young boys with."