A public awareness campaign is underway to encourage sexual assault victims to share their experiences with family, friends, counsellors and police.
Advocates want people to flood social media with pictures and videos of support for survivors by using the hashtag #IBelieveYou.
“The more survivors know they’re supported, the more likely they’re going to reach out and get help – that they’ll choose to seek justice,” Deb Tomlinson with the Association of Alberta Sexual Assault Services said. “That makes for safer communities for everyone.”
The initiative is already getting a great response online from post-secondary institutions, students, military leaders and non-profit organizations that deal with sexual assault cases.
Local varsity teams have been posting videos, challenging rival teams to do the same.
Danielle Aubry, from the Calgary Communities Against Sexual Assault, says the program is aimed at sending a collective shout-out to survivors of sexual assault.
She says sexual assault survivors who get a compassionate response when they tell are more likely to get help and seek justice.
Tomlinson said society’s perceptions are changing.
“We are in the middle of a transformational culture shift. One away from justifying and minimizing sexual assault and moving towards believing and supporting survivors. And this is a change like we’ve never seen before.”
READ MORE: Why don’t victims or bystanders report sexual assault?
Advocates say 97 per cent of sexual assaults are never reported.
For the first time, the Canadian Forces is a campaign sponsor after launching its own program, Operation Honour, to end sexual assault and harassment in the military last year.
Watch below: A new public awareness campaign has been launched to encourage sexual assault victims to share their experiences with friends, counsellors and police. The “I believe you” campaign encourages people to fill social media with pictures, videos and messages of support for victims of sexual assault. Sarah Kraus has the details.
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