'The price you pay could be rape’: Police campaign accused of ‘victim blaming’

A campaign by West Yorkshire Police warning young people against accepting free drinks and drugs at house parties has been accused of “victim blaming” on Twitter.

The posters used to advertise the campaign depict men and women accepting alcohol and marijuana from fellow party-goers and then appearing distressed with a trio of men pictured behind them.

The tagline for the campaign reads: “Free stuff can come at a very high price. The price you pay could be rape.”

The posters also urge people not to go to a house party if they don’t know whose house it is.

The force launched its Party Animals campaign in 2015 but still actively promotes it on its social media feeds.

Author Jessica Eaton, who specialises in the psychology of victim blaming and is the founder of the campaign group Victim Focus, spotted the poster targeting women circulating on Twitter earlier this week and tweeted it herself, prompting a flurry of critical comments.

“Wow. So many things are wrong about this and the message it conveys,” wrote one person.

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“Do they not realise/know that women are NOT at blame/fault. They’ve fell just short of pretty much saying ‘don’t dress certain ways as you’ll be thought of as “asking for it” and being a tease’.”

Another described the campaign as “disgusting and not acceptable”.

Meanwhile, one user interpreted the poster’s meaning as “Let’s attack and blame victims BEFORE they are sexually assaulted so they won’t come for help and we can keep stats low?” before adding that “rape has nothing to do with ‘partying’.”

Within the context of sexual assault, victim blaming is the term used to describe an attitude that suggests it is the victim rather than the perpetrator who bears responsibility.

A spokesperson from the police force tells The Independent that the campaign was launched in partnership with The Leeds Safeguarding Children Board and The West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner following a consultation with young people’s groups across the region.

“It was launched to address an emerging crime type of young people, both girls and boys, being lured to parties through the inducement of free alcohol or drugs by people seeking to sexually assault them,” the spokesperson tell The Independent, pointing out that the artwork does not just specifically address women, but men as well.

“Those posters were refined through feedback from students at local universities and the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Youth Advisory Group,” they add.

“As a force our top priority remains to detect child sexual offending and to protect young people from it by warning of them of the risks out there, and we remain determined to do so."

It's not the first time a UK police force has been accused of victim blaming. In October 2018, the Met Police came under fire for urging women not to use headphones or mobile phones while walking alone in the wake of a series of sexual assaults near a London Underground station.