Bulldogs gang rape allegation

In March 2004, a 20-year-old woman in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia filed a complaint to the police, alleging she was gang raped by six men from Sydney's Bulldogs Rugby League team. Subsequent investigations found the evidences were inconclusive, but this incident has drawn considerable media interest, and subjected the sport of Rugby League to unprecedented scrutiny.

It is now generally understood that in various codes of football, and in particular Rugby League, there are small minority groups with a culture of engaging in "gang bangs" or group sex (be these consensual or not), fuelled by the aggressive nature of the sport, the constant fear of career-ending injuries, and the consumption of alcohol. There are suggestions that Rugby League clubs should end the use of scantily-clad cheerleaders during matches, following the example set by the Australian rules football more than a decade before.

A grassroot movement, Football Fans Against Sexual Assault, has since been set up, lobbying football clubs to allow their players to wear purple armbands during matches in support of women's rights.

External link

NSW Rape Crisis Centre (http://www.nswrapecrisis.com.au)