Back in my younger days I would often be used by women in my social circle as a sort of protector; whenever they were approached, they would say ‘sorry, I’m with him’ pointing at me. I should point out I am a big guy, over 6 foot tall and broad shouldered. It always bemused me as to why I was needed like that, but was happy to help even when not really understanding the extent of why.

It’s only in the last few years that I have begun to appreciate how scary it must have been for them, and now I feel a sort of pride that I was in a small way, able to help.

So thanks to the strength of you and all the other women coming forward and telling your stories, I now understand what is and was going on. The predators are a minority amongst the male population and the majority of us hate it, but until your stories started to appear, I don’t think we really understood this problem, nor its impact or scale.

I think I speak for the male majority when I say now that we know what to look for, we will be looking for it and making sure those that do this get exposed and/or punished for what they are.