To think that West Mercia Police need to take this poster off their website

[DuelingFanjo]

here

they have already apologised for another poster story but the poster on their site is, in my opinion, also pretty offensive.

"Alcohol features in two thirds of all rapes, we want people to enjoy the party season and let their hair down without letting their guard down"

where are their campaigns aimed at men or aimed at taking women seriously?

It can (and does) come across a bit like victim blaming but in actual fact, they're just putting out a reminder that alcohol is a big factor in people losing their inhibitions and making some decisions that they themselves probably wouldn't have made if they had been sober.

I think its perfectly reasonable to point out that alcohol does play a big part in rape. Its a fact. Its not the whole story, but it is part of the story.

What irritates me almost as much is the victim mentality that says "I can't do anything to prevent rape, therefore I shouldn't do anything"

I do agree with the OP that this should be part of a campaign with a bunch of different posters, with varying messages for men and women.

I do also think that campaigns placing responsibility with the rapist can alter attitudes.
It can alter the mindset of the juriors who aquit rapists.

But I'm not responable for the actions of another person

"Rapists - don't rape!"

"Rapists - if drinking alcohol makes you want to rape - don't drink tonight!"

"Rapists - if taking drugs makes you want to rape - don't take drugs tonight"

"Rapists - if the sight of women, or other men, makes you want to rape them - stay away from the nightclubs/parties tonight"

"Rapists - choose not to put those drugs in a persons drink. Choose not to rape someone today"

Ideas for poster campaigns.

Absolutely luna

lunamoon "I do also think that campaigns placing responsibility with the rapist can alter attitudes. It can alter the mindset of the juriors who aquit rapists. "

Very important point. What you're trying to do is alter the perception of society, which blames the woman for being raped.

A lot of rapists don't just get off on it being wrong. Some of them have never been brought up being told they are wrong. They have parents, girlfriends, etc who simply put up with their bad behaviour and let them away with it. So they push the boundaries as far as they think they can.

"No one has picked up that alcohol also makes for morning-after-regret which can result in rape complaints being made, where no rape occurred either."

Oh yes, those nasty wimminz, reporting rape just for laughs because of course everyone's idea of fun is talking about intimate details of their life with multiple police officers and then having intimate medical examinations eh? FFS false rape reports are no higher than false reports of any other crime.

It's still a true fact that alcohol causes some people to put themselves in areas/positions that they have decided (when sober) are not safe.

They decide for themselves what is/isn't safe for them...like walking home alone, falling asleep at a bus stop with their mini skirt hitched up around their waist...or anything really.

Then they drink alcohol and all those rules they decided were best for them, can suddenly go out the window.

I think that's what the campaign is trying to get across...not that it's the victim's fault...more that the victim themselves knows what they consider safe when sober and that alcohol impairs judgement.

I agree Jumping alcohol does play a part in that too.

No one has picked up that alcohol also makes for morning-after-regret which can result in rape complaints being made, where no rape occurred either.^

Outrageous bullshit.

No doubt this will be another of those threads that goes round in circles... yes we all know that rape by a stranger is less likely than rape by someone known to you..

Would you class the bloke you have been drinking with in the pub all night as a "stranger" though? You know, the one who kept buying you drinks until you were so pissed that you let your guard down, stopped being cautious, and thought letting him walk you home was a good idea... until he raped you.

No, it isnt your fault that he is a rapist and it isnt your fault that you got raped. However, if you had perhaps not got so pissed, you might have thought twice about trusting someone you had barely met. I know many women who have found themselves in this situation, and many of these women are absolutely blaming themselves for allowing themselves for being more vulnerable than they needed to be if they had not got so drunk.

Self preservation, and a responsibility for your own safety are a priority and no matter what anyone says, it does give you some protection against rape.

all true

However, HOW can we educate girls to take care of themselves?

date rate is a huge issue, and whilst I dont advocate campaigns like this at all, if I had a teenage daughter I would certainly be telling her to avoid certain situations

I get 100% rape is caused by rapists, but likewise girls need to develop self esteem and survival hints, aswell

Love those Vancouver posters. We need more of that kind of thinking over here.

And so, no man has ever been acquitted of rape? After having his face plastered in the papers? and no woman has ever been prosecuted for malicious rape accusations? Here's three that top google for starters

A woman whose ?vile lies? nearly drove a man to suicide has been jailed for perverting the course of justice. Louise Johnson accused Andrew Tutty of rape, attempted rape, assault and harrassment after he ended their brief affair.
She took out injunctions against him and made his life ?hell?, a court heard. But Wolverhampton Crown Court heard at that precise time Mr Tutty was accused of attempted rape and assault by Johnson, he was filmed on CCTV boarding a train in Gosport , Hampshire, with his son.
Judge Nicholas Syfret QC told Johnson the two arrests had a ?huge impact? on the life of Mr Tutty. He said: ?He felt suicidal and it affected his work. These allegations were not only embarrassing but they meant he was suspended from doing his job.?
As he jailed her for 18 months, the judge went on to say there were people who felt ?there is no smoke without fire? and, while he was completely innocent, they would believe there was some truth in the allegations.
?There was not a word of truth in what you said,? Judge Syfret told Johnson.

A student has been spared jail for a false rape claim which led to a man being arrested and detained for nine hours.
Hannah Byron, 20, invented the sex attack in an attempt to win back an
ex-boyfriend, a court was told.
She was told by a judge that she avoided a jail sentence 'by a short whisker' for what police describe as a 'malicious report'.
Police strongly criticised Byron for putting the man through such an ordeal, for wasting their time, and possibly putting off genuine victims.

A young mum who falsely accused two men of rape out of fear she would anger her dad when she returned home late has been jailed for nearly three years.
Sentencing mum-of-four Emma Jones, Judge Stephen Hopkins QC condemned her false allegations for increasing ?the plight of those women who are genuinely victims of rape?.

Criticising this poster is like criticising posters that say drinking is involved in XX% of car accidents so don't do it. Its a fact. It won't stop all car accidents. It won't take drunk idiot drivers off the road. It won't ensure you don't have an accident.

But it lowers your probability of being in an accident.

The dumbest thing, surely, would be to argue that "well, since my drinking and driving won't stop other people having accidents with me, I'll just carry on then"

And should we stop telling people not to drink and drive, because they will blame themselves if they do drink and some other idiot crashes into them?

Drink-drive posters target the offenders - those who drink and drive. They don't say "don't drive your car after 11pm in case one of your fellow drivers has been drinking".

I saw a great "100% of rapes involve rapists" poster a while ago. Can't find it but it was something like this

"However, if you had perhaps not got so pissed, you might have thought twice about trusting someone you had barely met."

and so it's partly your fault? What a lovely thing to tell rape victims.

Not even going to bother responding to idiotic 'women falsely claiming rape when things got a bit carried away' bollox.

sigh.

Its like the I believe you never happened

somewhere between 65 - 90% of rapes go unreported - so throwing up the tiny tiny percent of false allegation is a misdirection and you know it

women who report rape are the MINORITY - most who do are not doing so to cover their shame at a one night stand or get back at some one

you are also ignoring the men who 'get off' - like the guy who has sex with a women who's hotel room he entered 'by mistake' so drunk that he thought she was his girlfriend ...

They don't say "don't drive your car after 11pm in case one of your fellow drivers has been drinking"

But nor does that rape poster talk about walking at 11pm. They both talk about the impact of alcohol. Because that is where the statistical correlation lies.