An eye-catching advertising campaign which brought the issue of sexual assault in Calgary to the forefront has returned with a new line of posters.
At a Monday morning announcement in Bridgeland, the Sexual Assault Voices of Calgary’s ‘Don’t Be That Guy’ campaign, which focuses on preventing sexual offences from occurring instead of focusing on the victim, released four new posters. The posters will be displayed on Calgary Transit, and in Calgary area bars and clubs.
The message of the campaign is sex without consent is sexual assault and a crime punishable by law in both heterosexual and homosexual relationships.
Danielle Aubry, the executive director of Calgary Communities Against Sexual Abuse, says the posters target potential offenders (primarily males), instead of placing the blame on the victims of sexual assaults.
“In the past we have been conditioned to believe that certain groups of people have created situations where they are responsible for their attack,” says Aubry. “But we see that past prevention techniques don’t work, and do not challenge the root cause of sexual violence. These techniques put the blame of an assault on the survivor and removes all responsibility from the person who committed the crime in the first place.”
“Most men will never commit a sexual offence, however, we know that the majority of reported sexual abuse and sexual assault offences are perpetrated by men. In some studies, the percentage of reported offences committed by men is as high as 97 per cent,” says CPS Staff Sergeant Jepson.
For more information on the campaign, sexual assault and laws of consent, visit Sexual Assault Voices of Calgary.
