'Sussex Police is taking an innovative approach' to their new Rape awareness campaign

No its not a stupid question, if you left a child (a baby) unattended, say in a pram outside and the child was taken, are you saying that there would be NO blame attached to the person leaving said child outside? with the greatest respect i call bollocks! and yeah, i definitely think that people we cannot talk about should take some responsibility for what happened, i dont mean i think they did anything, i mean, you dont leave children unattended, thats a whole other conversation which is not appropriate for here

Take away the 'bad man oppressing woman' for a moment, and see where you are. when did taking responsibility for what you do, and looking after your friends become a dirty word

"That is not true of any kind." of any other crime I meant.

Because unfortunately so many people do blame rape on the victim, and they shouldn't be encouraged for one micro-second. The first reactions you get when telling someone about sexual assault are a) are you lying? b) you must have asked for it in some way. That is not true of any kind. Plus there is a number of men who do think it is ok to rape any woman at the slightest excuse, and these posters encourages that attitude. Finally burglary (someone upthread mentioned burglary with the same argument) is rather less unpleasant a crime than rape.

if you left your child outside alone and they were kidnapped, whose fault is that? or do we blame the kidnapper solely?

I'm sorry but that is the most stupid question I have seen in a long time. Of course the kidnapper is solely to blame. April Jones did not die because she was allowed outside to play.

Madeline McCann is not missing because of what her parents did (I would not have done what they did because I'd have worried about children waking up after a bad dream or messing about with electrical equipment. Had Madeline stuck her finger in an electric socket they could be blamed. They are not to be blamed for her abduction )

( i'm female btw if that matters )

" 'many sexual assaults could be prevented' " but this has a ring of truth to it, some sexual assaults are opportunistic, and a drunk/vulnerable girl/boy on their own is more likely to get assaulted than if they are not alone and looked after by their friends, why do predators try and separate off the 'weaker' ones from the pack before attacking?

I think there are very many good reasons to point out 'if men stopped raping then women can stop worrying about sexual assault' , but sadly there is also truth in keep you and your friends out of situations where things can happen.

if you left your child outside alone and they were kidnapped, whose fault is that? or do we blame the kidnapper solely?

Why cant we have both messages? Its not about victim blaming, its about keeping safe

Much much better, from Greater Manchester Police. Nothing about 'being vulnerable' providing a rapist's excuse.

There are so many outdated messages around rape and donestic violence, unfortunately police hold some of these views.

I was stalked by an ex for years, went through court etc. most of the police were fantastic but I had one say "he follows you everyday...he must really love you".

Rape occurs in daylight. At home, at work, by husbands, by fathers, by friends, by strangers. Why police always focus on stranger rape in bars, I don't really understand? Is it even the biggest risk factor, or just one where women can be told to change?

I ought have said "the message should be". I completely agree that the campaign as it actually stands is awful.

MrsCakes no it isn't. The poster has 2 young,pretty girls and refers to sexual assault.

I would have no objection to a poster which featured boys and girls which encouraged young people to look after each other . Not so much as a means of preventing crime- a drunk teenage boy who is mugged is not to be blamed any more than a drunk girl who is raped, but along the lines that if your friend is drunk then helping them to get home is a good thing to do.

Surely the message is that being drunk or alone leaves women and men vulnerable to all sorts of crimes, including violent crimes - so look out for your mates.

Yes, but when you commission you also 'quality-assure' - there seems no wit or imagination to do that here by Sussex police.

No it doesn't let them off the hook but there were others involved. I'd love to know who designed the poster.

I don't feel like being to fair to Sussex Police, given that they have been trotting out the same statement for the last couple of days, despite having several rape crisis, women's refuge, feminist groups and other sadly knowledgeable people point out why the poster is bloody shocking.

Well, quite. Commissioned by them, and paid for by the people of Sussex largely. Yet with the years and years of experience in documenting, interviewing, case prep., victim liaison, court experiences, advice, and absorbing the pratice and legal requirements of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 regarding rape....they still produce this as a public information item..without saying.."erm.."??
Provides little scope 'to be fair' if I may say Still.

To be fair to Sussex police (well just a little bit) they won't have made that up themselves. A consultancy /advertising agency will almost certainly have been involved.

The direct message can be delivered to @sussex_police, fwiw.

The poster is item 1 on a rapist's charter and provides a first line of a defence. It also provides a significant filip to some Sussex police officers who may not feel particularly obliged to refer a reported case to their CPS for prosecution.

It would be a perfectly legitimate campaign if it featured young men and young women in a generally look out for your mates when drunk way.

Oh dear that really is awful.

Aaaaaaaaaand already a bunch of men telling women that, like property crime, rape can be prevented by women somehow locking themselves up. After all... you'd lock a car/house/iPad/other thing that's not in any way like a vagina away.

People who say stuff like this view women as property. Ugh.

There is also a petition... given that Sussex Police seem to be really proud of their victim blaming poster....

Here

Dueling.. thanks for the poster, it's now doing the round of Twitter

This is an area that genuinely confuses me. Nobody ever blames the victims of burglary, yet I've seen police advice on alarms (even fake ones), locks etc.

Yet even if those steps aren't taken nobody blames the victim of the crime, neither are the police themselves leapt on for victim blaming. Yet I can't see any harm in promoting information that allows individuals to lessen any risk to themselves.

Now with both burglary and rape, individuals mitigating any risk to themselves, won't stop an individual burglar/rapist commiting a crime against someone, but then again of these police campaigns seem to suggest this would be the case either.

So I suppose my confusion stems from, why can we have this sort of campaign for one crime and not the other?

Please note I am not questioning people condemning such campaigns as I wholeheartedly respect where they are coming from and admire anyone taking action.