Trigger warning: This article contains descriptions of sexual harassment
A Queensland woman has shared a disturbing video of the moment she was sexually harassed and stalked down a Brisbane street on her way home from an NRL game.
Hayley Mabbett, 32, shared the clip on social media after she was verbally harassed while walking home from a Brisbane Broncos match.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: NRL fan records moment she was sexually harassed on way home from game.
In the video, men in a car follow Mabbett down the road, yelling abuse at her.
During the encounter, one of the men can be heard shouting: “You better be going home, or I’ll rape you”.
Mabbett said she has had things yelled out at her before, but never to that degree.
“I was very scared,” she told 7NEWS.
“I was quite focused on the car and making sure that it didn’t turn around.”
Executive director of the National Women’s Safety Alliance Katherine Berney said she was “horrified, but not surprised” by the video.
“Walking home from a football game shouldn’t be a high-risk behaviour,” Berney said.
“We have had a 30 percent increase in intimate partner homicide in Australia, that doesn’t happen in a vacuum … this terrible behaviour is the start of it.”
Mabbett’s experience comes amid growing social concern over increased violence against women.
Last month, thousands of women joined a rally in Brisbane to protest gender-based violence, with advocates calling for action.
“Women feeling safe at any time is important,” co-creator of Watch Her Footy, Neha Kumar, told 7NEWS.com.au
“The current crisis of men’s violence against women highlights the importance of women feeling safe heading to NRL games, back home and in public spaces.”
Running a page dedicated to women’s rugby league, Kumar said NRL has a “duty of care” to create a safe environment for fans.
“With the female fan base growing of both NRL and NRLW, fans, officials, teams and players all have a duty to create a safe environment — it’s devastating that this behaviour continues to happen.”
“With NRL’s audience primarily men, this would be a great opportunity to educate and raise awareness about this type of behaviour and prevent this from occurring again.”
Kumar has shared her own experience of sexual harassment observed at matches on her social media page, stating the NRL should adopt similar approaches to gendered violence as the AFL.
“I can relate to women feeling unsafe at games, we see this behaviour time and time again,” she said.
“I think AFL Collingwood Coach Craig McRae addressed it perfectly, ‘enough is enough’.
“We are there to watch rugby league and have fun — we are not there to be threatened with rape and feel unsafe.”
The NRL has been contacted for comment.
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.
