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Rape prevention campaign targets young Scottish men Rape prevention campaign targets young Scottish men and bar staff
(about 1 hour later)
“Do you really know what rape is?” A graphic post-watershed TV advert poses this question to young Scotsmen in the latest phase of Police Scotland’s ground-breaking rape prevention campaign.“Do you really know what rape is?” A graphic post-watershed TV advert poses this question to young Scotsmen in the latest phase of Police Scotland’s ground-breaking rape prevention campaign.
Aimed at 16- to 27-year-old men, who are responsible for more than one third of reported rapes in Scotland, the £80,000 campaign called We Can Stop It will include showing the ad in cinemas, viral digital advertising using the hashtag #WeCanStopIt and washroom posters declaring: “Sex without consent is rape. We can stop it.”Aimed at 16- to 27-year-old men, who are responsible for more than one third of reported rapes in Scotland, the £80,000 campaign called We Can Stop It will include showing the ad in cinemas, viral digital advertising using the hashtag #WeCanStopIt and washroom posters declaring: “Sex without consent is rape. We can stop it.”
This perpetrator focused approach, which Police Scotland has brought to all its sexual and domestic violence policy in recent years, is supported by another key strategy, know as bystander training. In the first initiative of its kind in the UK, the police force is working with bar and club owners to train their staff to recognise situations where a woman may be vulnerable to sexual assault, and teaching them to intervene. This perpetrator-focused approach, which Police Scotland has brought to all its sexual and domestic violence policy in recent years, is supported by another key strategy, known as bystander training. In the first initiative of its kind in the UK, the police force is working with bar and club owners to train their staff to recognise situations where a woman may be vulnerable to sexual assault, and teaching them to intervene.
Launching the campaign at a bar in Glasgow city centre, chief constable Sir Stephen House said: “Sex without consent is rape. There are no excuses. If someone is drunk or drugged, they cannot give consent.” Launching the campaign at a bar in Glasgow city centre, Ch Con Sir Stephen House said: “Sex without consent is rape. There are no excuses. If someone is drunk or drugged, they cannot give consent.”
Reassuring victims of sexual assault that they would be listened to, he added: “The number of people coming forward to report rape is increasing which is a positive sign that victims are becoming more confident in coming forward, knowing their report will be thoroughly investigated.” Reassuring victims of sexual assault that they would be listened to, he added: “The number of people coming forward to report rape is increasing, which is a positive sign that victims are becoming more confident in coming forward, knowing their report will be thoroughly investigated.
“But we know that this is an under-reported crime. We want to encourage people to come forward and to report. Let me be very clear, we will listen and we will act.” “But we know that this is an under-reported crime. We want to encourage people to come forward and to report. Let me be very clear: we will listen and we will act.”
House has proved a controversial chief of the unified Police Scotland, but his work on sex crimes and domestic abuse, including setting up the internationally renowned domestic abuse taskforce in 2010, has been consistently praised by women’s campaigners.House has proved a controversial chief of the unified Police Scotland, but his work on sex crimes and domestic abuse, including setting up the internationally renowned domestic abuse taskforce in 2010, has been consistently praised by women’s campaigners.
Welcoming the latest phase of the campaign, Sandy Brindley, national co-ordinator of Rape Crisis Scotland, said: “The law is clear – sex without consent is rape, but we need to do much more to increase public awareness around this issue. The new advert can play an important part in making sure people, particularly young people, are clear about what rape actually is, and that it can have serious consequences.” Welcoming the latest phase of the campaign, Sandy Brindley, national co-ordinator of Rape Crisis Scotland, said: “The law is clear: sex without consent is rape, but we need to do much more to increase public awareness around this issue. The new advert can play an important part in making sure people, particularly young people, are clear about what rape actually is, and that it can have serious consequences.”
Based on a model first developed in the United States, bystander training has been piloted in secondary schools in Edinburgh. Based on a model first developed in the US, bystander training has been piloted in secondary schools in Edinburgh.
Chief inspector Graham Goulden, who is spearheading the initiative at the police force’s Violence Reduction Unit in Glasgow, explained: “In schools, it’s a way of discussing issues of alcohol and consent, asking bystanders to look at their friendships, first to see something as a problem and then as them having a responsibility to do something about it.” Ch Insp Graham Goulden, who is spearheading the initiative at the police force’s violence reduction unit in Glasgow, said: “In schools, it’s a way of discussing issues of alcohol and consent, asking bystanders to look at their friendships, first to see something as a problem and then as them having a responsibility to do something about it.
“In the night-time economy, it’s about having a duty of care, as well as a duty as a human being. Imagine if it was your best friend or your son or daughter. How do we move from the traditional passive bystander to a more active bystander?”“In the night-time economy, it’s about having a duty of care, as well as a duty as a human being. Imagine if it was your best friend or your son or daughter. How do we move from the traditional passive bystander to a more active bystander?”
The aim is not to create an expert in sexual violence, Goulden adds, but to get people engaged to the point where they are able to spot red flags and have a safe option for intervention.The aim is not to create an expert in sexual violence, Goulden adds, but to get people engaged to the point where they are able to spot red flags and have a safe option for intervention.
“We talk about different types of intervention with bar staff: what are the consequences of doing nothing, can you do something but not put yourself in harm’s way? It’s also about knowing that other colleagues and management are supporting you.”“We talk about different types of intervention with bar staff: what are the consequences of doing nothing, can you do something but not put yourself in harm’s way? It’s also about knowing that other colleagues and management are supporting you.”