1. Campaigning to change a rape culture in Scotland
Eileen Maitland, Rape Crisis Scotland

2. Public attitudes
Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2014: Attitudes to violence against women in Scotland There was evidence to suggest people believe that in certain situations woman are at least partly to blame if they are raped. Only 58% said that a woman who wore revealing clothing on a night out was ‘not at all to blame’ for being raped, and 60% said the same of a woman who was very drunk. Around a quarter (23%) agreed that ‘women often lie about being raped’ and nearly 2 in 5 (37%) agreed that ‘rape results from men being unable to control their need for sex’.
Scottish Government research (2010)
23% of people think a woman can be at least partly responsible if she is drunk at the time of the attack
17% thought a woman bore some responsibility if she wore revealing clothing
15% say there should be some burden of responsibility if a woman is flirting
8% think rape can be a woman’s fault if she is known to have had many sexual partners
The Havens “Wake Up To Rape” Report (2010)
Revealed widespread attitudes blaming women for rape - of over 1000 people interviewed more than half held victims responsible in some circumstances e.g. 28% of these people included “provocative” dress as an instance where women to some extent responsible

3. Rape myths & prejudicial attitudes
Myth: Rapists are strangers
Fact: Most rapes are carried out by men known to the survivor. RCS statistics for show perpetrators were strangers in only just over 8% of cases
Myth: Survivors will be hysterical immediately after an attack
Fact: Some are, but others may seem very calm (‘counter-intuitive’ -controlled reaction to shock)
Myth: Women frequently make malicious allegations of rape
Fact: There is no evidence that false reports are higher for rape than other crimes
Myth: If someone doesn’t struggle during a rape, they can’t really mind what is happening
Fact: Some people do shout & fight back, but many survivors talk about freezing & being unable to move or scream. This is a natural reaction to a traumatic event.
Myth: Some women lead men on by dressing or behaving provocatively & have only themselves to blame if things go further than they wanted
Fact: This is based on the notion that men have uncontrollable sexual urges, which are provoked by women’s behaviour. Men can and do control their sexual behaviour, as women do.

4. Why does this matter? Impact of prejudicial attitudes/rape myths
Reinforce survivor’s own negative feelings towards herself
Can deter survivors from seeking help / reporting to the police due to fear of the attitudes they will encounter
Members of juries are likely to hold attitudes which hold women responsible for being raped
Significant under-reporting of rape
It’s estimated that only between 1 in 5 & 1 in 8 women report to the police (British Crime Survey, 2000)
Reasons women give for not reporting include fear:
-of not being believed
-of being blamed for what happened
-of what will happen in court, especially cross-examination by the defence
NSPCC survey, 2009
A third of teenage girls in a relationship suffer an unwanted sexual act

5. The vital role of campaigning
Legal change is not enough
Challenging myths about responses to rape and attitudes which blame women is crucial
RCS campaigns have included
‘This Is Not An Invitation to Rape Me’, ‘Not Ever’, and most recently #ijustfroze

7. Aims of the campaign
The campaign aimed to challenge attitudes which attach blame to
women who have been raped, and in particular bust the following
rape myths:
If a woman engages in some level of sexual intimacy, she has only herself to blame if things go further than she wanted
that some women lead men on by dressing or behaving ‘provocatively’
that women who drink to excess should take some responsibility if they become victims of sexual violence
that rape is a crime primarily committed by strangers & that married women cannot be raped by their husbands

8. Campaign testing RCS received funding from the Scottish
Government to develop and test
the campaign.
Testing included:
8 qualitative focus groups
Online quantitative survey – 686 responses
Meetings with stakeholders: Police, Crown Office, Learning & Teaching Scotland & rural Violence Against Women multi-agency partnership

9. The campaign
Campaign launched on 15th October 2008, outdoor advertising started on 20th October for 2 weeks (48/6 sheets)
Funded by the Scottish Government. Campaign cost approx £300,000
Dedicated interactive campaign website
Campaign Facebook site – over 2,000 members
Campaign pack – A4 posters, postcards & information briefing
Support local agencies in using the campaign locally across Scotland – cinema advertising, displays in hospitals, washroom advertising in bars & clubs, images on back of bus tickets etc
External evaluation carried out into impact of campaign
Press advertising – local press, Big Issue and Daily Record
Press Local activity

11. Dress

12. Intimacy (1)

13. Intimacy (2)

14. Drinking

15. Marriage/relationship (1)

16. Marriage/relationship (2)

20. Reaction to the campaign
Campaign evaluation
882 interviews with members of public:
98% agreed the campaign tackles an important issue
65% stated it would encourage them to talk about the subject with their friends and family
61% said that it would make them consider their own attitudes towards rape

21. Campaign evaluation
“People aware of the campaign were significantly less likely to agree that women are in any way responsible for rape if they are flirting or dressed in revealing clothing versus those unaware of the campaign. These themes were represented in the campaign and it appears they could have had an impact on attitudes.”
Quote from This is not an invitation to rape me: Campaign Evaluation Report, Progressive, January 2009

22. What worked well Strength of campaign images
Testing process invaluable
Pre launch work with stakeholders played significant role in making campaign a success
Interactive website – longevity beyond duration of actual campaign
Viral media crucial in spreading word of campaign
Very positive feedback from rape survivors

23. Things we’d do differently
More varied and visible representation of different groups of women
Be clear about rights and ownership right from the start, & get it all in writing
Be proactive about ensuring coverage in rural areas – make no assumptions!

24. Not Ever Exploration of new medium – a wider audience
Reinforce original message
Centred on dress, but other elements incorporated
Learning from feedback
Further public engagement via social networking – Facebook, Twitter etc.

25. Campaign delivery Launched June 2010 30-second advert for television
STV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 for seven weeks (spread across 13 weeks) June – August 2010
Campaign posters
Interactive website: Facebook group – over 1000 members 1st week
Twitter presence
YouTube – now over 835.8K views, many comments/discussions
Media coverage – local and national tv, radio & press
Educational activity – DVD of “Not Ever” used in schools & by groups raising awareness with young people
82% of the Scottish population have seen “Not Ever” at least once
Total cost: £155,000 – funded by Scottish Government

26. Not Ever

28. YouTube ‘Not Ever’ had 835.8K views as of 2nd October 2018
Can be a vital platform for sharing & discussion, esp for campaigning RCS YouTube channel includes: Making Recovery A Reality, RCS Tips for supporting survivors, Survivors’ Guide to Scottish Justice System (versions in several languages), Stalking, Prevention trailers, Not Ever video etc

29. What worked well
TV has significantly greater reach than outdoor advertising / poster campaign
Agencies (esp. media buying agency) worked very hard on very tight budget to make campaign a reality
Social media crucial to campaign

30. Challenges
Difficulties in running a deliberately provocative / controversial advert when dealing with a sensitive topic
Limited scope for varied representations of women (one scenario)
Medium of campaign meant it was more difficult for local agencies / partnerships to take the campaign and run it locally
No budget for evaluation
We possibly under-estimated impact of ingrained women blaming attitudes in how a small proportion of viewers would interpret advert – important to balance the need to catch attention with clarity of message – caution required when using irony

31. #ijustfroze
Challenging/changing misconceptions about reactions to rape
There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way to react to rape
Judgemental attitudes prevent survivors disclosing/coming forward for help or to seek justice
Public awareness campaign
Challenge and change common misconceptions about reactions to rape. No ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way to react to rape
Assumptions that survivors will or can be expected to behave in a certain way can lead to judgmental attitudes which prevent survivors from disclosing what has happened or coming forward to seek the support that can help them or the justice to which they are entitled.

32. #ijustfroze - implementation
Two short animations
Supporting materials (briefing paper/postcards)
Primarily social media
Launched on 7th March 2017
Timed to bed in prior to new laws on judicial directions on responses/delayed disclosure which came into force in April
Two short animations plus supporting materials (briefing paper and postcards) Primarily a social media campaign shared across multiple platforms. #ijustfroze was launched on 7th March and will run indefinitely.
Timing of the launch was intended to give the messages several weeks to ‘bed in’ prior to the introduction of new legislation which will introduce judicial directions around responses to rape and delayed disclosure in some sexual offence cases from April 24th 2017.

33. #ijustfroze: Fight or freeze

34. #ijustfroze: So Many Reasons

35. Postcards

41. Responses to #ijustfroze
Animations viewed over 117,000 times on Facebook in first week (with 1929 shares)
Tweets in which they were circulated were retweeted 2589 times
Further audiences on Vimeo, YouTube Google+, Instagram, Kiltr & via the campaign web page
Seven survivors offered to share their own experiences in support
Considerable media coverage – see links on campaign web page at
Used by centres & partners in their own work
In the week after #ijustfroze launched the animations were viewed over 117,000 times on Facebook (with 1929 shares), and the tweets in which they were initially circulated on Twitter (at pic.twitter.com/47EA7EqmO3 and pic.twitter.com/Az96PrOu6g) have been retweeted 2589 times (The First Minister and JK Rowling were among those who did so) & liked 2938 times. They also reached a further audience on Vimeo, YouTube, Google+, Instagram, Kiltr and via the campaign web page.
‘I Just Froze’ has received considerable support from survivors of sexual violence, seven of whom offered to tell their stories in order to support it by reinforcing the truth of its messages. As soon as it was launched we received many very positive messages of support for the campaign – both via and in comments beneath the posts. We gained over 200 followers on Twitter in the week following the campaign.
‘I Just Froze’ received considerable media coverage, both across the mainstream media (with articles in several newspapers and Elle magazine among others) and also across a range of social media platforms. We have kept the campaign page updated with links to media coverage #ijustfroze has received.

42. Twitter feedback
’The survival response is fight, flight or freeze. Survivors instinctively do what's least likely to get them killed.’
‘i was told i'd have my pelvis broken if i resisted. #IJustFroze
‘please let the only response question be "Are you okay?" Not "did you fight back" Not "what were you wearing?"’
‘don't move. Don't speak. Act dead. Then run as fast as you can to get away once it's over. That was my way.’
’I froze, too. Always felt I should have done more, but I lay there, leaking-eyes, nothing else #Ineverconsented’
#ijustfroze ‘a fantastic message to bust those myths and deal with facts Refreshing stuff thank you’
‘what a fantastic video!’ #awareness
‘Thanks for sharing this. Freezing later in life during trauma is a common response for childhood sexual abuse survivors too.’
’In my experience, the pain of my friends & family's judgement was almost more painful than the actual rape.’
‘my mum said she would let a man kill her rather than rape. In reality there is no choice.’

43. Facebook feedback
‘Love this video. so true and something so few people seem to appreciate.. instincts: fight, flight or freeze. I was once told it's like a rabbit, freezing in the headlights xx’
‘THIS IS SO TRUE!!’
‘One of the most common and annoying responses given to a survivor of sexual violence is: "if it was me I would have kicked him between the legs!" etc etc..really?? No one knows how they will react, no matter how tough they may think that they are ’
‘I froze too. I didn't acknowledge what happened to me for months because of it.’
‘I froze literally. I still remember the feeling of abject terror. I could not move. I could not speak. I didn't think I could breathe. After he'd ran away, the effort it took to move, to get down the stairs, to get the phone and call for help was unimaginable. People said the same to me - why didn't you...., I'd have..... You have no idea unless you've experienced it. I hope you never have to.’
‘Powerful. I'm glad to see this posted and hope it goes global.’

44. Campaigning & public engagement: some observations
Capitalize on local initiatives/opportunities e.g. bus tickets, events, cinema advertising, NHS/health facilities
Be aware that no everyone will hear the same message in the same way – an ironic tone can be misunderstood
Representation is important
A greater range of media will reach a greater range of people – video, YouTube etc (different platforms = different communities)
Think about ways that social media can support your messaging – building a community of supporters & generate discussion
Make it easy for others to share e.g. embedding instructions
Be responsive – moderate comments & answer questions.
Share your stuff (on the understanding that further sharing supports your messaging & values)

45. Contact Rape Crisis Scotland
Facebook: