A blogger on timesofmalta.com criticises James Calvert for saying that rapes are committed over weekends because people are too drunk to remember and goes on to lament: “What does that say about society? Does it mean that just because a woman is intoxicated then it is OK to take advantage of her because it was she who put herself in that position?”

Why are children taught to look both ways before crossing a road? Why are people advised not to leave their cars unlocked before leaving them parked somewhere?

Why does the State warn its citizens not to leave appliances switched on if they decide to leave the house?

Why does popular wisdom teach tourists not to wear flashy jewellery while on a trip overseas?

The answer, of course, is all about street smarts and personal responsibility. That is why Calvert is correct when he criticises women for putting themselves in a dangerous situation.

The internet is replete with surveys and vox pops portraying the vast differences in sexual proclivities between men and women. Women (for the most part) view sex as part of a balanced relationship whereas men regard sex as a conquest, a feather in one’s cap.

This is a truism which has been acknowledged for centuries, even being immortalised in the Codex Regius of the 13th century, Boccaccio’s Decameron and Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.

Despite the hysterical and militant feminism displayed by certain bloggers, it is therefore prudent for women not to stupidly and carelessly put themselves in a situation where they might be taken advantage of.

It also behoves them to stop abdicating personal responsibility for their actions, to stop delegating it to the State and to learn from their mistakes instead of expecting other people to feel sorry for them every time they slip up.