It is never the victim's fault

It is vital to emphasise that the onus of preventing assault should not lie with young women. It is never the victim's fault. That being said, there are some useful personal safety guidelines worth sharing with young women:

• be assertive. A friend of mine who was once a cheerleader for a first-grade rugby league team described the types of girls the more predatory players were often attracted to: "The group of dancers I worked with were all really confident, bright young women … They stayed well away from us. It seems to me that the type of girls they go for are always the starry-eyed young, quieter and often naive fans.";
• learn self defence, so that you are better able to detect danger, fight back and be assertive;
• know your sexual rights, as an individual and as a partner; and
• understand that rape does not have to involve physical force. If a man insists on having sex with you without your free and willing consent, he is committing a criminal act.

I'd also like to see football's decent players step up and do more to set the tone within their clubs. What about making a public statement by wearing armbands that proclaim something like "Real men don't harm women"? A male friend of mine made the following poignant comment: "While I believe the female voice is important in the issue of misogynistic attitudes in these types of sportsmen, the MALE voice is the linchpin. What we need are more blokes willing to have the guts to tell other blokes what's right and what's wrong."

Hear, hear.