Some taxi drivers recently assaulted a young women who was dressed in a mini skirt. Apparently they tore her clothes off and touched her private parts while pouring alcohol over her.

Now, I want to go on record as saying that I condemn this in the strongest possible way. I feel that the people who did this should be identified and prosecuted. In addition, I think it's important that society makes it clear that this kind of behaviour is really not acceptable.

But at the same time I wonder how wise it was to wear the mini skirt there in the first place.

If I draw a wad of money from an ATM, and then walk around with the money hanging out of my pockets, I'm probably going to get robbed. It might happen in a nice neighbourhood, but it's more likely to happen in a not-s0-nice neighbourhood. And I can almost guarantee that if I walk around with the money bulging out of my pockets for long enough I WILL get mugged. It won't be nice, kind, law abiding citizens who do it, it will be the kind of pond scum who really have no respect for me, the law, or my rights.

What would you think if you read my story in a newspaper? Would you pity me, or would you think I'm an idiot for walking around with money clearly visible.

These days, more and more women are walking around scantily dressed, and some of the outfits I've seen I've wondered why they even made the effort to put clothes on. Women seem to think that it's a sign of emancipation - a badge of freedom perhaps.

The thing is, just as the law gives me the right to walk around dripping money, the law gives women (and men, for that matter) the right to wear whatever clothes they like when they go out. And we can both exercise our rights without fearing the other honest, law abiding citizens out there. But when we are assaulted (by people who could care less about our rights)), we both need to recognise that just because we have a right doesn't mean we can exercise it without consideration of the danger we place ourselves in.

Now I happen to feel that sexual assault is orders of magnitude more serious than simple robbery. Sexual assault has effects and consequences that are far more serious that me losing some money, and the people who commit any kind of sexual assault should face the wrath of the legal system.

And perhaps because I see sexual assault as being so much more serious, I feel that women should take more responsibility for what they wear. Wearing a mini skirt does not give anyone the right to strip your clothes off and touch your private parts. But if not wearing a mini skirt would have been safer, I feel that a different skirt should have been worn.

One day, when all the criminals have been routed from society, it will be safe for me to walk around baring my money to the world at large. But until then I'm going to play it safe. I'd rather hang on to my money, and doing it as a matter of principle will lose me a lot of money without having any noticeable effect on the cretins of the underworld.