3:30 PM (8 hours ago)
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Dear Emma,
Thank you for taking the time to contact us and express your concerns regarding our recent Safe Night Out campaign.
West Mercia Police takes allegations of rape and sexual assault very seriously and we categorically do not believe victims are to blame.
The campaign (which was developed by another police force but in consultation with a number of victim support organisations) has now ended but the feedback we have received will be used to help evaluate it and to develop future campaigns.
Thank you again for contacting us and for your frankness.
Thank you again for contacting us and for your frankness.
West Mercia Police apologise over rape campaign poster
An anti-rape charity said the posters put the blame on the victim
West Mercia police has apologised for a poster campaign which an anti-rape charity called "inappropriate."
Worcestershire Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre claimed the Safe Night Out campaign blamed victims who had been drinking for sexual assault.
Jocelyn Anderson, from the centre, said: "It's not alcohol that causes rape, although it's a vulnerability factor, it's rapists that cause rape."
The poster appeared in pubs in the force area in July.
Det Supt Ivan Powell said: "If the campaign has caused distress, that was not our aim and I will apologise for that.
"This was not about blaming victims but putting information out to help.
"I understand there have been some concerns about the nature of the poster but I would stress what we are trying to do here is putting information out showing potential victims how to avoid becoming vulnerable."
Ms Anderson said: "The problem was the poster put the blame on to alcohol and women who are raped, suggesting if they didn't drink they could avoid rape.
"I think it's great the police have realised that the poster was giving off an inappropriate message and admitted on this occasion they got it wrong."
West Mercia Police covers Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire.
Hi
I write to you because I am appalled by your latest anti rape campaign and would like to see you remove it and start again with proper consultation with people who truly understand the issues surrounding rape. As someone who has been raped after having had a little too much to drink, being dressed sexily and spending my evening flirting with someone, as I did and have every right to do I am 100% fed up with this sort of campaign. Blaming someone for a malicious attack - suggesting that she could in anyway protect herself from a revolting sub species is pathetic and simply encourages silence and suicide.
I am performing a piece about my experience at the Fringe this year and will be using your campaign to highlight how victim blaming continues and is made yet worse as it comes directly from those people that are supposed to be there to protect us. No wonder we don't report it to a group of people who are extremely likely to infer that we were someway responsible for what has happened to us and who are apparently trained to make us 'break' and admit we were lying. We already feel this, shame and guilt for what we were unable to protect ourselves from and your lack of support and understanding towards us and our rights to behave in anyway we wish are simply archaic and utterly unhelpful.
We should stop funding police led campaigns and give the money to proper support organisations who realise the damage rape causes and know the only way to reduce rape is to further punish the perpetrators and improve our policing and prosecuting.
I look forward to hearing what you decide to do about this.
Regards
Emma
4:14 PM (2 minutes ago)
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Thank you for e-mailing West Mercia Police. We will respond to your message within 24hrs and where necessary provide a more detailed response as soon as we can. If your e-mail indicates dissatisfaction with our service provision then we will reply to you within 24hrs of the matter being reported.
