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Police launch anti-rape campaign

24/11/2008

Greater Manchester police are launching an anti-rape campaign ahead of the Christmas season.

The Rape Awareness Week is aimed at reducing the incidents of rape and sexual assault and increasing the reporting of these incidents.

"As the Christmas party season approaches, we want people who are going out to have a good time but to keep themselves safe," said GMP Superintendent Phil Owen.

"I want to reassure people that we take rape extremely seriously and constantly strive to improve the service and support we give to victims," Mr Owen added.

"As a part of a week-long awareness campaign, we will be using a number of tactics such as distributing posters to licensed premises to highlight important messages such as 'sex without consent is a crime and can lead to a lengthy jail term' and 'let your hair down, not your guard.'"

The campaign will also include "highly emotive" TV and radio adverts, one meant to remind offenders 'No Consent, No Sex'. The other advert is for victims of such offences, encouraging them to report the incident and teaching them about the support that is available to them, such as those offered at St Mary's Sexual Assault Referral Centre.

Over 500 rapes and attempted rapes were reported between April 1st and October 31st of this year.

Alcohol has reportedly played a role in two-thirds of reported sexual offences.
The increased use of alcohol use during the holiday season has mounted concerns that such offences will also rise during this period.

Rape Awareness Week is set to be launched later today.