Gabi Imperial was out for dinner on Lonsdale Street after playing a game of soccer when a group of men drove past and shouted "slut" at her.

"I was wearing shorts and these guys drove past in a car and yelled out the window 'you slut'," she said.

"I really don't think that would happen if I was with male friends or if I was a male."

Many female commentators have recently taken to news outlets and social media to share their encounters with sexism, sexual abuse and feeling unsafe - and Canberra isn't an exception.

There were 333 reported instances of sexual assault in the ACT in the previous financial year, including physical contact or the intent of physical contact without consent, according to ACT Policing crime statistics.

More than 100 cases occurred in Tuggeranong (106), another 84 in Belconnen and 69 in North Canberra, which encompasses the city.

Click or touch on an icon to view the number of sexual assault incidents reported to ACT police in the 2014-2015 year. Source: ACT Policing

Less than fortnight ago a man was jailed for three sexual assaults on unsuspecting strangers in Canberra, having grabbed and rubbed the genital areas of two women in Civic and assaulted a third at the ANU.

Last Wednesday prominent Studio 10 presenter Jessica Rowe revealed the moment a drunken news director assaulted her at work, as outlined in her new memoir.

Kirsten Culhane works in hospitality where she's been sexually harassed.

"I was just really shocked that people would make really offensive comments about my body," she said.

"You feel gross [and] really angry as well. I'm not a sexual object."

She said there was an "awful" expectation among her peers that most young women had faced similar sexist treatment at some stage.

Kirsten Culhane and Joanna Herrmann talk about sexism directed at young women in Canberra. Photo: Rohan Thomson

Canberra Rape Crisis Centre chief executive officer Chrystina Stanford said it was important to acknowledge sexual violence was a crime predominantly perpetrated by men against women.

"We have raised men to have more power and women to have less," she said.

"Until some of those inequalities are made more even we will have a society where one gender, for a range of reasons, has more power than another; sexual abuse happens because of an abuse of power.

"While most perpetrators are men, not all men are perpetrators. It's not about casting blame over a whole gender."

Ms Stanford said young victims often downplayed their experiences with sexual violence.

She said victims could report incidents to police or contact service's such as the centre's crisis line for support.

"Really, because we generally don't want to believe people do such awful things to other people, the first response is to often say, 'this isn't so bad' or 'it happened because I was out drinking with friends'," she said.

"Our counsellors often have people ring and say, 'I'm just not sure'."

The impact or fear of sexual violence can also leave many women feeling the need to alter their behaviour to bypass vulnerability.

Emma Henke, who lives and studies at ANU, often feels the need to use her keys as "a little weapon" in case of unwanted attention from men, including sexual assault.

"I will get my keys and clench them within my fist," she said. "I find it terrifying to walk through campus at night."

Ms Henke was cycling home from work on Northbourne Avenue one night when a group of intoxicated men began throwing paper at her in an attempt to try and get her to pull over or fall off her bicycle.

"It was quite terrifying at the time. I felt very vulnerable," she said.

Kat Reed feels most vulnerable in Garema Place after dark and at bus stops, where men have made suggestive remarks or tried to find out where she lives.

"[Sometimes] I'm terrified and Im not sure what to do to protect myself. Usually I just ignore it if it's nothing too major," she said.

"I usually have these rings that are quite sharp and I wear them so, if I'm walking at night I have the safety of knowing I have something sharp in my hand."

Ms Stanford said it was a fine line between banishing feelings of vulnerability and victim blaming.

"It's the really difficult side of sexual violence because the reality is the only people who can stope sexual assault are those who perpetrate it," Ms Stanford said.

"We don't want to send the message women are in anyway responsible for what happened. It really comes down to the individual."

Emma Henke

"I find it terrifying to walk through [the ANU] campus at night. The boys can do it without worrying. I get frustrated about the fact I feel like my male friends don't have to experience the same thing."

Kat Reed

"I like to wear quite eccentric clothing sometimes so, a lot of people say things like, "why don't you come over here'. I identify as a feminist. It's frustrating I find myself in these situations."

Gabi Imperial

"I was wearing shorts and these guys drove past in a car and yelled out the window, 'you slut'. You go through plans in your head about what you would do if something were to happen. I shouldn't have to think about that."

Kirsten Culhane

"There shouldn't be an expectation that women will be sexually harassed; thats awful. It's just a reality that most of my friends have faced that at some point."

Joanna Herrmann

"I avoiding walking home by myself at night. I just got back from overseas. I walked down the street with two friends [in France] and so many guys were like, 'nice legs'...in Canberra it's not as big a problem."

Canberra Rape Crisis Centre crisis line: 6247 2525.