Launch of teenage rape prevention campaign

The Home Office has recently launched a Teenage Rape Prevention Campaign, which aims to prevent teenagers from becoming victims and perpetrators of sexual violence and abuse.

The Teenage Rape Prevention Campaign, launched across the UK, encourages teenagers to rethink their views of rape, sexual assault, violence and abuse, and direct them to places for help and advice.  The campaign objectives are:

• Raise awareness of the issue of rape and sexual violence
• Improve understanding of what constitutes rape, sexual  assault and consent
• Empower young people to avoid, challenge and report sexually violent behaviour.

Steve Charmley, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member responsible for public protection, said:

“There are still so many misconceptions about what is rape.  Rape is an extremely serious sexual offence and one that victims often find incredibly difficult to tell anyone about, let alone the police.

“Shropshire Council is fully supportive of this campaign which will hopefully help reduce the number of incidents and encourage those victims to report, where previously they may have been hesitant to do so.”

Councillor Karen Burgoyne, deputy Cabinet member with responsibility for youth provision, said:

“Any campaign which raises awareness of teenage rape is a positive step.  The Teenage Rape Prevention Campaign makes it clear what rape is, and reminds young people of the importance of knowing what consent means.”

The powerful and hard-hitting campaign, funded by the Home Office, is part of a long-term commitment to tackle violence and prevent future victims by challenging attitudes early, and asks teenagers to rethink their views of what constitutes rape and consent.  The campaign includes TV, cinema and online advertising campaigns, and has been launched in partnership with charities including the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Rape Crisis and Survivors Trust.

It builds on the Government’s wider This is ABUSE campaign and is the first advertising campaign of its kind targeting teenagers.

The Teenage Rape Prevention Campaign is supported by a dedicated website where teenagers can go to get advice and are signposted to organisations that can provide specialist help and advice.   Visit the This is ABUSE website for more information.

The Campaign advertising runs from 5 March 2012 to 29 April 2012 and uses a combination of the following channels for advertising:  

• TV – advertising runs post-9pm on teen-targeted digital channels
• Online – advertising runs on teen-targeted websites and mobile sites
• cinema