Features / Interviews
Police encourage men to report sexual assault
Can You Keep A Secret…You Don’t Have Too is a campaign by Avon and Somerset Police to encourage men to report sexual assaults. We spoke to PC Mike Steven who has been working on it and seeking to improve services for male victims of sexual assault from it’s inception.
How long has the campaign been running?
I started work on ‘Improving Services for Male Victims of Rape and Sexual Assault’ in September 2014. I spent the initial six months researching the subject and building my own personal knowledge before focussing on raising awareness of the issue and working out where we can make real changes to improve services for victims.
is needed now More than ever
How has it been supported by agencies and charities providing support to survivors of male rape?
I started engaging with the many excellent agencies and charities we have here in the Avon and Somerset Force area in 2015. Many of these organisations were already providing services for men but they weren’t as accessible or obvious as they could be – which makes it harder for victims to find out where they can get the help or support they need.
Have Avon and Somerset Police seen an increase in the reporting of rape and sexual assault since the campaign began?
Raising awareness of male rape and sexual assault is not so much a campaign but more of an ongoing process to improve services and understanding of some of the unique issues faced by men after such a traumatic and distressing crime. Male rape forms part of Avon and Somerset Constabulary’s Rape Delivery Group and Rape Strategy, which embeds this strand of work into our everyday values and makes sure we’re able to bring about real change across the organisation. While I’d like to see more men coming forward to the police to report offences, my aim is for male victims of sexual offences in our Force area to feel more confident to speak to any relevant agency to get help and advice.
Why did Avon and Somerset Police decide to run the campaign?
Quite simply, more needs to be done to give men a voice and we need to make sure male victims feel confident to come to the police where they will be treated seriously and always with respect. There are embedded societal and familial views that we need to try and change, as well as our own. I believe the police service has a crucial role to play in this.
I use my Twitter account (ASPMikeSteven) primarily using the hashtag #ListenBelieveRespect and #ChangingPerceptions to help challenge attitudes and opinions, promote what services are available to male victims, what outreach work is going on and key Constabulary messages.
We’ve carried out a lot of proactive work during the year including launching a teaser campaign at Bristol Pride 2015 – using the tagline ‘Can you keep a secret….you shouldn’t have to’ – this proved extremely popular at the event and on social media and we were able to engage with festival-goers and community groups and organisations to let them know what we’re doing to improve services for male victims.
What is the aim of the campaign – increased reporting of sexual crime against men or increasing awareness and removing stigma?
The aims of our awareness raising campaign is to break the silence among male victims, to remove the stigma and taboo around reporting and speaking out, to bust myths around this crime type and to help explain to people what to do if someone confides in you that they’ve been raped or sexually assaulted.
Emphasising and reinforcing the message that the police will Listen, Believe and Respect all victims is extremely important. In times gone by, the police service was not seen as particularly caring towards men especially gay men. Things have dramatically changed since then and any man reading this should feel confident in speaking to their local police force and if not us, then please seek help from a relevant agency.
For more information please check these websites.
Useful links
www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/newsroom/features/questions-about-male-rape/
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