The two-phase campaign will include advertising in clubs and pubs and on social media.
A recent freedom on information request revealed that over the past decade, an average of more than one woman or young girl has reported a sexual assault in Jersey every week – 775 assaults were reported to police over that time.
Almost half of all the reported rapes over the ten-year period related to girls under the age of 18. The number of reports that resulted in perpetrators being convicted and jailed was less than five per cent for rape charges and seven per cent for sexual assault charges.
Acting police Superintendent Alison Fossey said more needed to be done to raise awareness.
‘We are acutely aware that sexual crime is underreported, but we remain committed to working with partners, especially support and advocacy services such as the Sexual Assault Referral Centre at Dewberry House, Jersey Action Against Rape and the Jersey Women’s Refuge, to encourage victims of sexual crime to report,’ she said.
The new sexual offences law, which legally defines the concept of consent and creates a number of new offences, comes into effect at the end of the week.
The police campaign uses posters with images of predatory animals to underline its message that rape is not about a misunderstanding of consent, but it is about power and control and predatory behaviour.
It also features the hashtag #YouWillGetCaught prominently.
The campaign also targets the ‘hook-up’ culture and dating apps such as Tinder and Grindr.
‘Swiped right? Just because you said it was on doesn’t mean you can’t change your mind,’ posters will advise.
The police say the law makes it clear that consent can be taken back at any time before or during a sexual act.
The new law, which provides greater protection for victims of any gender, also clarifies the issue of consent for cases involving alcohol or drugs.
When the law comes into force, those accused of rape will have to show that they took steps to ensure consent was freely given.
Senator Kristina Moore brought the new law to the States when she was Home Affairs Minister. The politician, who moved the new law forward, said it was rewarding to see it coming into effect but that she would like to have one of the proposals that was left out reconsidered.
‘When we debated the law earlier in the year there was an interesting discussion prompted by an amendment of the scrutiny panel which proposed that some sexual offences [cases] should be determined by Jurats rather than jury trials,’ Senator Moore said. ‘I would urge the Minister to consider returning with a proposal for debate.’
