A NEW digital #getconsent campaign has been launched by West Midlands Police as the Christmas party season gets underway.
The anti-date rape campaign, running across the force’s social media, warns that sex without consent is rape.
Rape and serious sexual assault figures from the last eight months across Coventry and Birmingham show a worrying trend, according to police.
Many young people, aged between 17 and 22, are being assaulted after a night out drinking by someone they know.
Police say the biggest trend is among young people being assaulted by someone they have met on the internet, on social media or on an online dating site. Officers are seeing a shift away from stranger rape and towards first and second date rape.
The new digital campaign #GetConsent, based on a campaign by Police Scotland, aims to educate people on what legally constitutes as rape, and warning young people that no-one is entitled to sex. Sex without consent is rape and will be taken very seriously.
Police reveal that many offences are also taking place where a group of friends who go out together get separated during the evening, leaving one of them drunk and vulnerable. This is contributing to a number of reports of assault by someone who has picked them up in a car, where the victim believes they have taken a taxi home.
Superintendent Nick Walton from the Public Protection Unit, said: “No-one should go out to a party or on a date feeling entitled to sex, just as no one goes out on a date expecting to be raped.
“Nor should anyone feel bullied, coerced or shamed into having sex because their date expects it or believes they are entitled to it because they paid for drinks or dinner. Sex without clear consent is rape.
“The Christmas party season will see a lot of people out in the region’s town and city centres. Our advice to everyone is to stick with the group you went out with and make sure everyone gets home safe.”
Help and advice is available online here: https://www.west-midlands.police.uk/your-options/rape where you can easily live chat to their team.
