Safety awareness Who Are You? campaign part of Uni orientation
When thousands of university students arrive on campus in the coming weeks – they’ll find some safety awareness advice in information packs and on the air waves.
Who Are You? is a sexual violence prevention campaign featuring a series of thought provoking radio ads and a short You Tube film – all timed to coincide with student orientation week activities starting on Monday 13 February.
Police are pleased to support the ‘Who Are You’ campaign which focuses on what people can do to prevent a possible sexual assault from happening.
The three-week multi media campaign is targeted at young people and those who work or interact with them.
It is designed to:
- Improve understanding of issues concerning consent to sex
- Encourage individuals to respond to sexual violence in a manner appropriate to the situation
- Empower people to help others
- Encourage community discussion on sexual violence prevention.
The messages pose these questions:
- What if we looked after each other?
- What if we became ‘ethical’ bystanders?
- What if we took action that could help keep others safe?
Being an ethical bystander is all about doing little things, long before the point of harm is reached.
It’s not about being a hero or putting yourself at risk, but it is about preventing sexual violence.
An estimated 1 in 4 women and 1 in 20 men in New Zealand will be victims of a sexual assault at some point in their lives.
Sexual violence can often be prevented if someone does something – however small.
Offenders are most often known to the victim – and the events leading up to the assault are often witnessed by others.
Most of us want to help if we are in an unsafe situation – but we often aren’t sure how to step in and help others.
The campaign features a powerful 8 minute long film which can be viewed at www.whoareyou.co.nz
Campaign steering group members include Wellington Police, the Hutt Rape Counselling Network, Wellington Sexual Abuse HELP Foundation, Sexual Abuse Assessment and Treatment Service, Doctors for Sexual Abuse Care; Wellington Sexual Abuse Network, Wellington Sexual Health Service, and The Radio Network.
