Download Rape Crisis Scotland - Women`s Support Project

Rape Crisis Scotland
This is not an invitation to rape me
campaign
Drink
Drinking
“We like to drink and have a good time, a
hangover is the worst we expect to
happen”
“ By binge drinking, they are putting
themselves at risk of rape, they need to
accept some blame for their behaviour”
Drinking
• Amnesty Research 2005 – research conducted by
Amnesty found that 28% of people believe that a woman
is totally or partially responsible for being raped if she is
drunk
• 26% of a cross section of the Scottish population (700
interviewees) who took part in research carried out by
progressive on behalf of rape crisis Scotland in August
2007 believed that women contribute to rape if they are
drunk.
• Research with mock juries has demonstrated that people
are more likely to blame women for rape if they have
been drinking (Wenger % Bornstein, 2006.)
Dress
Dress
“let’s be realistic in no way should a woman be raped whether she may
be covered head to toe or naked BUT a woman who shows her
body in a sexual way will attract a specific sort of attention. That si
why most women who are raped are wearing revealing clothes!!
They don’t deserve it but they DO play a part in it”. Hamid, male
“What is women’s goal with showing a lot of skin, other than sending a
signal of being fertile and attracting other people in a sexual context
– if none other; then it is matter of taking a risk”. Bob, male
“What is the point in showing your cleavage if you don't want male
attention? I've seen women with their breasts basically hanging out
and then get offended when people look at them. So ridiculous.”
Lisa, female
Dress
• A fifth of the broad cross-section of the Scottish
population (700 interviewees) who took part in research
carried out by Progressive on behalf of Rape Crisis
Scotland in August 2007 believed that women contribute
to rape if they wear revealing clothing.
• Research conducted by Amnesty International in 2005
found that 27% of people believe that a woman is totally
or partially responsible if she is wearing ‘sexy or
revealing’ clothing.
• A survey of 986 Scots carried out by TNS System Three
in February 2008 for the Scottish Government found that
27% thought that a woman bore some responsibility if
she wore revealing clothing.
Intimacy (1)
Intimacy
“i totally agree with this campaign but the "intimacy" picture
is a little bit off in my opinion, i mean she has unbuckled
his belt which is a pretty strong suggestion that
something will happen, no? im not saying that she has
signed a contract or anything but the ad could have been
a little subtler.” gary, male
“The frustrating point about rape and sexual assault is that
it makes you question yourself rather than the attacker
question himself. We need men to become more
introspective and empathetic with respect to this issue.
Unfortunately I think that the anti-rape cause is not a
priority for many men.” S, female
Intimacy
• Almost a quarter (23%) of the broad cross-section of the
Scottish population (700 interviewees) who took part in
research carried out by Progressive on behalf of Rape
Crisis Scotland in August 2007 believed that women
contribute to rape if they have engaged in some form of
sexual activity.
• Research conducted by Amnesty International in 2005
found that over a third of people believe that a woman is
totally or partially responsible if she has behaved in a
flirtatious manner.
• Zero Tolerance research carried out in 1998 found that 1
in 2 boys and 1 in 3 girls believed that it was acceptable
for a man to force a woman to have sex in certain
circumstances.
Marriage/relationship (1)
Relationships
“After having a disagreement with someone recently, who believed it was
impossible for a husband to rape his wife, I was really pleased to notice
your campaign. I strongly disagreed with him and I am pleased you are
challenging opinions like this. I hope it will give females (and males) the
confidence to take their assault further.”Jennifer, female
“Marriage and marital sex are mutually contradictory. Partner rape is perhaps, a
more appropriate term. The notion of marital rape is an idea invented by
women libbers and has no place in a proper marital home. If you do not
want your spouse to have free access to your body why do you marry him
or her? You can stay spinster or bachelor and seek out sex from outside
when you want it.” Christian, male
“Thank you so much for bringing this into th open. And please ignore calls from
people that images of marriage shouldn't be associated with rape - the fact
that the majority of rapes are carried out by partners or former partners
means that it is already associated, whether we like it or not! It's infinitely
more important that people are made more aware of this than that children
are shielded from this knowledge, and encouraged to believe in
fairytales.”Gareth Simpson, male
Relationships
• A significant minority (13%) of the broad cross-section of the
Scottish population (700 interviewees) who took part in research
carried out by Progressive on behalf of Rape Crisis Scotland in
August 2007 believed that most women who are raped are raped by
strangers.
• In 2002 the UK Home Office published the findings of a British
Crime Survey to which 6,944 women had responded. Nearly half
(45%) of rapes reported to the survey were committed by
perpetrators who were victims’ partners at the time of the attack.
Strangers were responsible for only 8% of rapes reported to the
survey
• The survey also found that partner rape entails the highest
occurrence of multiple rape (62%) and attacks by partners and expartners are more than twice as likely to result in some injury to the
victim (39%) as attacks by strangers (19%)
What women tell EWRASAC Support Workers
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•
•
•
•
Their fears :
Not being believed
Being asked questions about past sexual history
Procedures : medical / legal
He will not be charged & he will come & get me /
my family
• No conviction will mean that people will think I
made it up
• He is charged but it goes no further
• The whole court thing
What women tell EWRASAC Support Workers
~
Judged :
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Was drunk at time
Take drugs / known to take drugs
Have a record
Flirted with him
Had sex with him before
He was an ex
Let him in / went home with him
I’m a prostitute / was a prostitute
We watched porn together
Kissed him
What women tell EWRASAC Support Workers
~
will not be taken seriously because :
• Knew him / was a friend / were at Uni.
together / work / worked with him
• It was at a family party / he is family
• He said he would say that I said ‘yes’ and
then changed my mind – that no-one
would believe me
• Because of how I was dressed
Challenging Societal Attitudes
• In Scotland, only 2.9% of rapes recorded
by the police currently lead to a conviction,
and the humiliation experienced by female
complainers in court is well documented.
• Despite recent efforts to help women who
have been raped to receive justice,
societal attitudes continue to play a
significant role in limiting justice for women
who have experienced this crime.