How communities can act against date rape
Date rape is a real problem in our society. A lot of people think that rape is pretty rare, that it only happens to certain types of girls and is usually committed by disturbed ‘psychos’.
The truth is it can happen to anybody and most rape victims know their attacker – and that’s what date rape is.
Rape happens to people you know and care about: family members, girlfriends and friends. It’s not just something that goes on between two people – it impacts on their wider network as well.
Sexual assault is a problem that won’t disappear unless the whole community addresses it.
Here are some examples of what communities just like yours have done to deal with the issues of date rape, drink spiking and sexual assault. If you think your community should get involved in a project like these, see the ‘For more information’ section for contact details.
Students raising awareness about date rape
In Wollongong , an event called ‘Big Brother Hits the Gong’ was organised with the help of student representatives from several high schools in the area. The aim was to raise young people’s awareness about date rape and spiked drinks.
Around 200 Year 9 and 10 students from different high schools attended. The guest speaker for the day was Peter Corbet, winner of the second Big Brother TV series and a Wollongong local.
Drama students from Figtree High School roleplayed a party situation which covered the issues of gender inequity and sexual assault. They used the roleplay to get people talking about the issues as a group.
People then went off into smaller groups to share ideas about what they could do in their own schools to inform other young people about date rape and spiked drinks.
A community campaign about drink spiking
The ‘Don’t Get Spiked’ Awareness Campaign aimed to provide info on spiked drinks to young people by displaying posters in pubs, clubs and backpacker hostels.
As part of the campaign a youth conference and peer education weekend was organised by the Manly Youth Council. Both guys and girls participated in the weekend and the issues talked about included date rape, spiked drinks and violence in relationships.
Some of the participants went on to do surveys in local pubs and under-age venues, to find out about what people knew about drink spiking. T
he results of the survey will be used to work out ways to improve young people’s understanding of drink spiking and what they can do to protect themselves.
For more information
For more information on any of these projects or to find out more about the NSW Strategy to Reduce Violence Against Women call 9228 7899 or go to www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/vaw.
