Canberra seems to have a hell of lot of abusive violent men! Every day we hear about more of them. It’s no wonder so many women don’t trust men.

People learn from their experience and when a group of people with similar characteristics repeatedly present as dangerous, it becomes smart to avoid them. Yes, this is stereotyping which may not be ideal or always accurate but it is an instinctive self-protection mechanism.

This is the reason that non-violent, non-abusive men need to keep the others in check, so the stereotype does not dominate the thinking of women, children and vulnerable people.