A group of taxi drivers are raping women and not much is being done about it. He identified 25 cases in three years, with many more going unreported. "The vast majority of cases were of victims aged 17 to 39 and most incidents occurred early Saturday or Sunday mornings,'' Wells said. And in most cases the victims were impaired from drugs or alcohol and were attacked after seeking the safety of a taxi following a night of partying. If the emails that arrived here this week are any indication, there is a significant number of women so scarred by their experiences they are now frightened to catch taxis on their own.

First we need to address the elephant in the room. Most (but not all) of the complaints we have received say the offending drivers were overseas-born students. At this point the cravat-wearers will splutter on their croissants and declare this story racist. Too bad, we say. The issue is criminal not cultural. Women are getting raped and others are terrified. Deal with it. We are talking about a small number of drivers and it is in the interest of the industry and the community to confront the unpalatable facts.

Why would it appear that foreign-born drivers are singled out? Part of the reason is obvious. The late-night, early-morning weekend shifts can be nasty, dangerous and stress-filled. The pay is poor, many of the passengers are rude, demanding or drunk and most owner-drivers stay home, preferring to employ young students to fill the difficult shifts. So drivers from the subcontinent and other parts are over-represented at these critical times. One such driver said: "A couple of years ago I was assaulted by a girl and had the taxi stolen. I am sure you have no idea about fare evaders, girls threatening cabbies and girls so intoxicated they have no idea what's happening around them." And he is right. It would be obvious even to a crime statistician with cataracts that drivers are more likely to be victims than offenders. When we covered a weekend shift with police in the city, one of the first jobs was an assault on a taxi driver of Indian descent. When he dropped off three very drunk and offensive "Aussie boys", they paid the fare with a mouthful of abuse followed by a king-hit.

So while the opportunistic taxi drivers who sexually assault lone female passengers are a tiny minority, there remains a problem that needs to be addressed by more than a shrug of the shoulders. This is the reality and it is a scandal. One young woman wrote: "I got into the front of a cab drunk after having a fight with a boy I was with. ''It was 2am and raining, the cab driver approached me and asked me if I needed a lift. "I told him I only had enough money to get me so far and then he could drop me. He agreed. In hindsight it was stupid but I was 19, drunk and alone.

"He proceeded to tell me I wouldn't have to pay, slowing the car and attempting to grab me. "He didn't lock the door and I escaped after he attempted to force himself on me. "Almost three years later and last week I had a cab driver try to kiss me when he dropped me off. I'm at a loss at the moment as to what mode of safe transport is available to me as a single female." Her experience was reflected in another email: "When I was 18 I was returning home in a taxi but only had $20 on me. I asked the driver to take me as far as that would allow and I'd walk the rest of the way. ''He said not to worry about it and drove me the whole distance. I gave him the $20, then he put his hand on my inner thigh, grabbed my arm and said he wanted to work out "another service" to repay what I "owed him". He let go of me and started unbuttoning his pants so I opened the door and ran for it. I never reported it because I didn't record his name or ID and was scared people would think I was making it up because I'd been drinking."

One woman recalled her trip to the airport following a Melbourne business meeting: "I no longer use taxis as a result. "The driver remarked on my tattooed legs and kept looking into the back to see them. I asked him to concentrate on his driving but he continued to make remarks about having tattoos and my legs being uncovered. He then (while still driving in heavy traffic) reached into the back seat and tried touching my legs - I told him not to and he said that he just wanted to feel them. "I was getting really upset and wanted the trip to end. I asked him what in his culture would he do if a man unknown to his sister was to try feeling her legs like he was doing to me. He became very angry and verbally abused me, saying that I was racist against his culture and to leave his sister out of it. It appears some drivers believe women are not to be treated with any respect or decency if they contravene their cultural beliefs regarding morality." One industry source in regional Victoria said that more than once drug or drink-affected women who passed out in taxis have woken on park benches with their clothing in disarray. "They are too embarrassed to report it," he said.

Another woman reported: "I have been in so many situations where I have felt unsafe in a cab. Most recently I was coming home from a night out with friends in Melbourne's CBD and the driver began by interrogating me about my living situation and if I was married or had a boyfriend (this is very typical when I travel alone). At one point he actually pulled the cab over and said, 'I've turned the meter off, we can sit here and you talk to me for a while'. I was absolutely terrified and I told him that I had taken down his driver number and if he didn't start the car I'd call the police. "I feel like every female friend of mine who has travelled alone at night-time has a story like this. "You're in an environment where the person driving you has complete control over your safety, and asking questions or making comments like those just make you feel like you're being evaluated as some kind of sex object. It happens all the time and it always seems to be Indian men. The bottom line is, in their eyes, women are not equal and are deserving of assault. ''I'm scared to travel alone and hope that I never have to again after what happened a few weeks ago.'' One multiculturalism teacher wrote that some of her students drove taxis and, in a minority of cases, "their views about women they consider to dress and behave 'immodestly' are simply horrendous''.

Wells says drivers accused of rape tend to claim the sex was consensual. He argues that any driver having sex with a passenger should be sacked. And who could possibly disagree? Some have looked at passenger security phone apps, with one suggesting barcode identification inside each door that can be captured by smartphone. The new Taxi Services Commission chairman, Graeme Samuel, said: "Driver standards are our No.1 priority." He has started talking to police to develop a plan. Perhaps we can start with all cases referred to the sexual crimes squad for an in-depth investigation that will find cab drivers who are serial offenders. Respect for women must be part of cabbie training so every driver understands a woman in a short skirt is not an invitation, she is a passenger.

Last month a 30-year-old taxi driver was convicted of three counts of rape after attacking a semi-conscious 17-year-old. In his police interview he became a little indignant, telling investigators that he was "better than a taxi driver. In India I am a businessman." No. You are a rapist. And you are going to jail.