This skewed perception may even be unearthed among men who have themselves been the victims of violence. Thirty years ago, the son of some good friends and neighbours was very seriously assaulted by strangers in the streets of Nottingham where he was a student. When I was talking to him recently, he said he didn’t worry at all about his son on the street because “he’s a rugby player and he can take care of himself”. But he does fret when his teenage daughter goes out, “because, with girls, there’s always the fear of rape”.