Bars Ignore Abuse From Sports Stars, Campaigner Says

A women’s safety advocate has said that bars and clubs are ignoring harassment and sexual assault by sportsmen because of their status. Jess Davies made the comment after rugby player Api Ratuniyarawa was allowed to return to a Cardiff bar where he carried out assaults on three women. Ratuniyarawa was jailed last week for 2 years and 10 months for the attacks at Revolution.

The bar said it regretted allowing Ratuniyarawa back in after one of his victims complained to bouncers. Ratuniyarawa’s attacks were all caught on CCTV.

Davies, an ambassador for the Women’s Safety Charter and a social media influencer and presenter, said that many bars and clubs had long turned a blind eye to what goes on depending on the status of the guest involved. “Especially when it comes to rugby players, Cardiff being such a sporting city,” she added. “Players are revered and hold a lot of cache, so naturally club owners want them drinking on their premises.” She believes that this leads to “a sense of entitlement” where the players think “they can get away with whatever they want”. Davies called for stricter protocols, adding: “A club’s priority should be to keep their female customers safe, regardless of what powerful men might be in there.”

Michael Kill, CEO of the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), said that despite attempts to increase safety for women there was still much room for improvement. He said: “We’ve worked very hard safeguarding women these last few years, the profile of female safety at night having become more and more prominent.” However, he added that when something goes wrong a reassessment is needed. “But from the industry’s perspective it’s crucial there’s always a chain of communication in place during periods of transition.”

A spokesperson for Revolution said: “The safety and wellbeing of our guests is extremely important to us, and we have a range of measures in place to identify and evict those who pose a risk to others. Our venue and security team have supported the police throughout their investigation and our thoughts remain with the victims of these crimes.