Cynthia Gallaway on her experiences as a young adult 40 years ago, Dr Sue Roffey on how boys need to be educated, Helen Gunn on the sexism that pervades society, and Peter Stewart on the police’s role
Your print headline, “Women facing an ‘epidemic’ of indecent exposure” (Report, 1 October), is in the wrong tense. Women have been facing an epidemic of indecent exposure for decades.
I am 69 years old, and in my teens and 20s I was a victim of it at least four times that I can remember. I am not unusual. My generation felt that we had to take this kind of male behaviour in our stride, and were advised to not wear provocative clothing, to not lead men on and to be vigilant when on our own, particularly at night. Forty years after my experiences, we are only just starting to have a conversation about how to prevent this “epidemic”.
