I don't know about where you are getting your information, but the newcomers are generally told that "That probably no human power could have relieved our alcoholism." That would include other members of AA as well. It's not a tenet of AA for anyone to blindly follow another human being.
You also might consider that even though the women in question might need help, they are in fact far worse off not doing anything about their problem.
When I see a newcomer woman, I generally assume that they have been raped and beaten during their drinking. Taking their chances in a bar or in an abusive relationship is a formula for disaster. Taking a chance in an AA meeting is probably quite a bit safer than the alternative. Alcoholism directly accounts for around 125,000 deaths per year in the U.S. and that does not include murders, accidents or suicides. The statistics are skewed by social mores against citing anything related to alcohol as a cause of death, so you can see that the actual rates might be considerably higher.
Alcohol related traffic deaths are the leading cause of death amongst the 15-24 year old age group, a good proportion of which could be considered to have been caused by early and middle stage alcoholics.
Something needs to be done...
If anyone is worried about being preyed upon at an AA meeting, check out [
www.recovery.org] where you can find a womens meeting that could be very helpful in avoiding any chance of being preyed upon by some sick SOB (that might need a lot of help outside of AA...maybe starting with a hefty dose of Thorazine.) The next alternative is checking out an open meeting and bringing along a friend that can help keep the wolves at bay.
There are also a number of online resources where you can chat or get on an email list to get a feel as to whether AA is for you or not. There is also The Grapevine magazine that can be suscribed to from AA national headquarters.
One other thing, if anyone ever pressures you into buying a book or any other liturature, think about finding another group to join. A Big Book should cost about $5 and often we give them away to newcomers. (Trust me, they make great doorstops. :P ) Pamphlets can also be had for free.
Finally, we don't recruit. If we did, you'd find us outside bars screeming at people to "Let go and LET GOD!" or even better [b:3c41aec51f]"EASY DOES IT!"[/b:3c41aec51f] It ain't happening people...