I have no info about this, but I can tell you one area where you might see a "dick-swinger" (don't know the English word for it): I walked into one when I was walking from Ribadesella to the albergue in San Esteban de Leces. This was on july 24 in the evening around 20:00. A group that had arrived shortly before me had seen nothing, so maybe this man only shows himself to women walking alone. When I told this in the albergue the woman said that the same thing had happened two years ago, apparently he's not very frequent ;-) But if you want to avoid walking into him I would advise finding a companion for the stretch between Ribadesella and San Esteban the Leces or to take a bus.
On the norte it can indeed happen that you walk alone for many hours. I have walked alone a lot and have not had any other problems on the Norte, none at all. After the abovementioned incident (I 'solved' it by starting to walk back and stopping a car, asking the driver to take me past this man) I got myself a big stick but of course have never needed it.
I still very much recommend the Norte, also for women who walk alone. It's beautiful, I loved it. Buen camino!
