Before the first
Lions test in Auckland, a group of seven girls aged between 13 and 16 ventured out
on the streets surrounding Eden Park to entertain fans with their circus skills.
Hi Jinx didn’t just
turn-up they were invited.
For their effort’s
the group were subjected to a tirade of sexual abuse.
Mostly to be fair
from the travelling Lions supporters.
"How much for a
handjob?"
“Do you give lap
dances”
“I’d like to get
into your box”
How did it make the
girls feel?
Let’s make no bones
about it - these were girls.
“Sexual comments
like those made me more self-conscious when performing, because I didn’t want
to be seen in that sort of way and, although I knew I wasn’t doing anything
wrong, it is hard to ignore comments like those without feeling dirty or guilty
about what you are doing.” (Connie, 14 years old)
“Hearing all of the
comments made me feel uncomfortable and in a way vulnerable, because when
people are saying those kinds of things to you, it makes you feel smaller than
them.” (Ella, 13 years old)
Of cause rugby ‘men’
would be the first to advocate that child molesters should suffer all sorts of
major indignations, but in the next breath simply allow a tourist to tell a 14 year
old local girl to “Spread your legs wider”.
We are constantly barraged
with the image that rugby is the epitome of manliness, yet there was not one
man amongst the thousands of All Black fans that night who would stand-up
and tell the drunken foreign fans to STFU.
"Stop verbally abusing that child you sick fuck"
Not one AB fan intervened on their behalf.
