Police Scotland launched a new campaign to tackle sexual violence this week - and for once, it’s actually aimed at men. In a powerful video called ‘Don’t be that guy’, the campaign features men asking questions such as: ‘Have you ever guilt-tripped her? Or pressured her? Or pushed her into it?’, encouraging other men to reflect on how all sorts of ‘laddy’ behaviour actually leads to sexual violence.
‘THAT GUY is a new campaign from Police Scotland that aims to reduce rape, serious sexual assault and harassment by having frank conversations with men about male sexual entitlement,’ a statement on the That Guy website reads. ‘We want women to feel safer. We want women to be free to live their lives without having to worry about what men say or do.
‘Women should be able to go about their daily lives without worrying about being sexually harassed, assaulted or raped. But for far too many women that’s not the case,’ the statement continues. ‘Men: we can make a real difference by taking a hard look at our attitudes and behaviour, at home, at work and socialising with our mates. As men, we need to stop contributing to a culture that targets, minimises, demeans and brutalises women.’
The campaign encourages men to talk openly with their male friends and relatives about behaviour that’s damaging to women and leads to criminal offenses, concluding they should ‘find better ways to be a man.’
Police Scotland have been widely praised online for the campaign - although it comes in the same week that Channel 4 Dispatches reported that 166 officers in Police Scotland have been accused of 245 counts of sexual misconduct in the last four years. Not one has been dismissed, according to data obtained by the programme.
‘Police Scotland demands the highest levels of integrity from our officers and staff and when someone fails to meet this standard we take the appropriate action. We have no ability under current conduct regulations to prevent an officer from resigning,’ Police Scotland’s deputy chief constable Fiona Taylor said in response. ‘All sexual crime is absolutely abhorrent and our officers will carry out a thorough investigation into any complaint, irrespective of who the offender is. At the conclusion of any legal proceedings, further action will be considered by our professional standards department.’
For once, we’re not being victim-blamed for our own likelihood to die at the hands of a man.
The campaign seems even more important then, with many praising the decision to focus efforts on how men need to change their behaviour. It’s certainly a message the Metropolitan Police should listen to, after the force told women to ‘flag down a bus’ and challenge plain clothes police officers when approached in order to avoid abduction or sexual violence.
After Sarah Everard’s disappearance, the Met also told women not to go out alone at night and, after Sabina Nessa’s murder, gave rape alarms to local residents. To many, the Met's response appears to have been to put the burden on women to reduce the risk of sexual and physical violence, instead of actively tackling where it predominantly comes from: men.
It’s no wonder women have responded to the Police Scotland campaign with such enthusiasm - for once, it actually feels as though we’re not being victim-blamed for the likelihood we will be harmed by men.
‘Most men don’t look in the mirror and see a problem, but it’s staring at us right in the face,’ the campaign states. The Met should take notes.
Read More:
Tackling Male Violence Is ‘Not A Priority’ Within The Police, Watchdog Report Finds
Until We Admit The Enormity Of Male Violence We Won’t Be Able To Stamp It Out