Edmonton Sexual Assault Awareness Campaign: 'Don't
Be That Guy' So Effective City Relaunches With New Posters (PHOTOS)
The Huffington Post Alberta
|
By Michelle Butterfield
Posted: 12/01/2012 12:59 pm EST Updated: 12/01/2012 1:05 pm EST
It was a campaign so effective at getting the word out to
potential offenders of sexual assault, the Edmonton police are bringing
it back.
According to the Edmonton Journal, the Edmonton Police Services and a local coalition, Sexual Assault Voices of Edmonton (SAVE), are relaunching a provocative and bold campaign that goes after those who commit sexual assault, rather than the victim.
The "Don't Be That Guy" campaign
was first unveiled in 2010 and targeted alcohol-related assaults. The
campaign has now expanded to include sexual assault of all types,
including same-sex assault.
One of the newly designed posters shows two men sitting on a bed with
one man's hand of the chest of the other. The text below reads "It's
not sex...when he changes his mind."
“The blunt language and challenging images are meant to draw attention to our core message, and that’s that sexual contact without ongoing and active consent is sexual assault,” Lise Gotell, chairwoman of women studies at the University of Alberta told the Edmonton Journal.
CTV Edmonton reports that 40 per cent of sexual assaults in Edmonton
in 2011 were investigated by the Sexual Assault section of the EPS, and
of those, 51 per cent involved alcohol.
This campaign differs from many other prevention campaigns worldwide in that it shifts the focus from the victim.
“Our campaign places responsibility where it belongs — on the perpetrators," said Gotell.
The campaign has been so popular, many other cities in Canada and
around the world inquiring about the posters and using them in bar and
club bathrooms, transit stations and campus facilities. According to the
Globe and Mail the number of reported sexual assaults fell by 10 per cent last year in Vancouver,
after the ads were featured around the city. It was the first time in
several years that there was a drop in sexual assault activity.
SAVE group members include the Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton, the
Edmonton Police Service, the University of Alberta Sexual Assault
Centre, Saffron Centre of Sherwood Park, Convenant Health Prevention of
Alcohol Related Trauma in Youth (PARTY Program), Responsible Hospitality
Edmonton, Red Cross, Prostitution Awareness and Action Foundation of
Edmonton (PAAFE), University of Alberta Women's Studies, and community
advocates.
It's an old article, but I just discovered the pictures. I really liked the concept. I like how the number of sexual assaults dropped, but correlation isn't causation. I hope they do more to look into it.
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