Mumsnet to campaign against rape


by Newswire    
7:55 am - March 12th 2012

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Horrified by the scale of rape and sexual assault reported in their findings, the influential website Mumsnet is today launching a new campaign called ‘We Believe in You’.

In a survey completed by over 1,600 women on their website, respondents said:

• One in ten had been raped (10%)
• Over one-third (35%) had been sexually assaulted
• Almost one-quarter (23%) reported being raped or sexually assaulted four or more times
• In two-thirds (66%) of cases the women knew the person responsible

The survey also found that many women felt unable to report rape or sexual assault for various reasons.

Over four-fifths (83%) of respondents who had been raped or sexually assaulted did not make a report to the police. Over one-quarter (29%) didn’t tell anyone at all, including friends or family, about the assault/rape.

Over two-thirds (68%) said they would hesitate reporting to the police due to low conviction rates and over half (53%) would not report due to embarrassment or shame.

The campaign, backed by Rape Crisis, Barnardo’s and the End Violence Against Women coalition, aims to support women who have suffered rape and sexual assault by raising awareness of how common these crimes are, and challenging the myths that stop people reporting them.

Mumsnet is publishing a pamphlet titled ‘Rape: the truth behind the myths’, which sets out to bust eight persistent myths that help to make society less sympathetic to victims than it should be.

Justine Roberts, Mumsnet Co-Founder and CEO, said:

Things are made worse by the feeling among many women that they can’t talk about these crimes for fear of being treated unsympathetically, denying them access to practical and emotional support when they need it most. The message from the men and women on Mumsnet is clear: we believe you – and we want others in society to start believing you too.

Their survey also revealed that most women feel that rape victims are treated poorly. Nearly three-quarters (70%) of respondents felt the media was unsympathetic to women who report rape.

Over half (53%) felt the legal system was unsympathetic and a similar number felt society at large was unsympathetic to concerns of victims.

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Reader comments


1. pjt

“Nearly three-quarters (70%) of respondents felt the media was unsympathetic to women who report rape.”

Yeah. Pretty much any respondent who has read about the Assange case would probably say so.

Not that *everyone* in media is unsympathetic to women who report rape, but plenty enough are.

2. Jennie

A link to the campaign would be nice, just to save my googling fingers.


Reactions: Twitter, blogs
  1. Liberal Conspiracy

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  2. leftlinks

    Liberal Conspiracy – Mumsnet launch campaign against sexual assault http://t.co/IpmMdRju

  3. Feminist Collective

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  4. Patron Press - #P2

    #UK : Mumsnet to campaign against rape http://t.co/O1GzTYF2

  5. Lauren G

    Mumsnet bizarrely not shit for five minutes http://t.co/IB5TcnbT

  6. Lanark

    Mumsnet launch campaign against sexual assault http://t.co/f3P9nyH9

  7. Steve Robinson

    Mumsnet to campaign against rape | Liberal Conspiracy http://t.co/6ObnMfv8 via @libcon <- These survey results are frankly horrifying

  8. Fazey Pie

    Mumsnet to campaign against rape | Liberal Conspiracy – the stats on this are shocking! http://t.co/wUrDQTSB via @libcon

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  12. Lucy Eldridge

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  13. Helen Deakin

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  14. Syazwina Saw

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  16. Carol Hunt

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  17. Mary Roche

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  18. mellonicoley

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  22. Lee Chalmers

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  23. Kate Williams

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  24. Michael Lee Rawlings

    Mumsnet to campaign against rape | Liberal Conspiracy: The campaign, backed by Rape Crisis, Barnardo's and the E… http://t.co/pS7O2q2K

  25. ElizaBeta

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  26. Richard

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  27. Janet Graham

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  28. Janet Graham

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  29. Andrew Ducker

    Mumsnet campaigns against rape – 10% of women raped, 35% assaulted, 66% knew attacker, 83% do not report. http://t.co/gRjYXX8F

  30. sunny hundal

    @lauraoliver started with this mumsnet story today http://t.co/kRERk91l

  31. JS Janeiro

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