Cllr Kevin Foster

A new radio campaign from the Coventry Community Safety Partnership is being launched with a hard-hitting message around sexual violence and rape. It's designed to encourage victims to feel more confident about reporting and reminds potential perpetrators that there are no acceptable excuses once a rape has been committed.

According to the Fawcett Society every 34 minutes a rape is reported to the police in the UK. 1 in 4 women has experienced rape or sexual violence with many feeling unable to report.

Reducing sexual violence and rape against women and girls requires a long-term shift in public attitudes, and effective media campaigns such as this will play a key role in achieving this. The radio ads on Touch Radio and Mercia from 15 Feb are hard-hitting mini-dramas.

There are four different ads; three feature perpetrators of rape being interviewed in a police cell, before the listener hears a flashback to the victim saying "no". One of the ads features a conversation between a woman who's been raped and her friend; the friend encourages her to report the crime.

Victims need to know that there is support for them from organisations such as Coventry Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre (CRASAC) and that if they choose to report to the police on 999, they will be taken seriously. CRASAC supports around 3000 victims of sexual violence each year. Around 90% of victims that come to rape crisis centres do not report to the police.

Diane Whitfield from CRASAC said, "The campaign aims to demonstrate that rape or any form of sexual violence is no longer a ‘low risk' activity. The campaign aims to break down the wall of silence that many victims experience because of the culture of blame and disbelief that still surrounds sexual violence."

Cllr Kevin Foster, Deputy Leader of Coventry City Council, said: "I welcome this campaign and that it leaves no room for confusion about how serious a crime rape is."