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Cardiff University Football Club reacted to sick rumours spread on student social media accounts that sexual assault would be legalised for 24 hours on Saturday by offering to chaperone any women home from nights out. They proceeded to support 30 women, mostly students, in a few hours.

The 21 teammates, all students at the red brick university, operated a messaging service throughout Saturday night, reports Wales Online. 

Ben Marett, the club’s president and first team captain, said: “It all really stemmed from seeing the posts online about girls getting harassed around Cardiff. There just seemed to be more and more each day, and then we saw about the ‘national rape day’ warnings as well – I thought surely there’s something we can do to help.

“We’ve got a really good group of lads in the football club now, and they all supported it straight away.

“We wanted to show that while there are men doing bad things, there are also men out there doing good things as well.

“The response has been phenomenal too, I’ve had hundreds and hundreds of messages from people who were really grateful for the initiative – a lot of men have messaged me as well saying that they really respected what we were doing, which was really nice to see.”

We wanted to show that while there are men doing bad things, there are also men out there doing good things as well.

Ben Marett, Cardiff University Football Club president

The men patrolled the Cathays area of the city, wearing distinctive red tracksuit tops, with two people being sent off to chaperone those in need whenever they received a text or call.

Mia Sawdon, 20, used the service after she’d visited a friend in their garden. 

The politics student said she had recently become increasingly aware of the potential dangers of walking alone in the city.

Mia added: “I used to not really worry too much about it. One of the reasons I chose Cardiff was that it is a really nice, safe city, and I’d never had any bad experiences.

“But over the past couple of months, that perspective has really changed – I had a couple of run-ins with guys trying to come up and talk to me, following me, catcalling me, all in the space of two weeks or so, which really changed my opinion.

“The other day, one of my friends just walked out of the house to her car and, in that time, two different cars drove past with boys catcalling her.

“I think that is one of the main reasons why girls feel so unsafe – it could literally just be a matter of walking down the road and something happening.

“I’m lucky having someone like Ben that I can go to, but obviously a lot of girls won’t have that.”

Imogen Stonebank, 21, a third year English Language student at Cardiff University, was walked home from a train station by three members of the football team.

She said: “I just don’t leave my house after 7 or 8pm, particularly in the last year or so. It feels like there’s an unspoken curfew now, which is such a shame.

“Even a year or two ago, I definitely had a different attitude, and I’d be going out late, going to society events, walking back with someone and not worrying too much about it.

“On the flip side, seeing the guys come forward and asking what they can do to help has been really lovely, I really appreciated them walking me back home.”

Police disproved the ‘national rape day’ event as a hoax after vile messages appeared online last week.

But Ben, who studies business and human resource management, wants to work with the university with future initiatives.

The student said: “I know the university has things in place at the moment, but we would like to work with them, rather than them taking over the scheme.

“We’d have to get lots of safety measures put in place, we’d obviously want it to be really safe – but we’ll have talks and see what we can do.”

The university already has a number of existing schemes in place to help ensure student safety, such as the Student Safety Walk Scheme, which supports students who may feel uncomfortable getting home alone late at night.

A Safety Bus and Safe Taxi Scheme also helps students get home safely on nights out, while personal safety alarms are also available through the university’s Security Centre.

Students can also download the Safezone app to alert University Security if they need help or assistance while on campus.

A Cardiff University spokeswoman said: “We were aware of comments made on social media, and we condemn those who seek to create fear amongst our student community. We know our students make a great contribution to our local community in all sorts of ways.

“While we had no evidence to suggest the threat was real within our community, we sought and were offered reassurance by the police. We fully appreciate the negative impact these events have had on our students’ perceived sense of safety.

“That’s why we are proud of the way our student community responded in such a measured way and the efforts of the university’s football team.

“Whilst not wishing to undermine their efforts in any way, we would advise that initiatives like this are organised in collaboration with community partners and the potential risks of these activities are carefully considered. It’s important that appropriate measures and training are put in place, and there is clear guidance around managing risk and safety.

“As a university we take a zero-tolerance approach to violence and abuse, including threats of violence. Anyone who is behaving in this way or supporting such behaviour will be subject to disciplinary procedures. It is so important that anyone with information about any students engaged in any such discussions to come forward and report them immediately.”

She added: “While the university has no current plans to offer an official chaperoning scheme, we are always happy to consider and discuss with our student community, Students’ Union and other partners any suggestions that could offer additional reassurance.

“When considering such schemes it’s important that there is consultation and clear guidance around managing risk and safety. Volunteers should also receive training and be supervised accordingly.

“It’s important to stress that there are a number of existing schemes in place and we’d urge all students to make themselves aware and access them if they are concerned.”

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