One in eight Maryland women will be raped at least once in their lifetime, officials say.
On Thursday, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene launched a $300,000 campaign to educate Marylanders about rape and prevent them from falling victim.
The first statewide initiative aims to raise awareness about rape and sexual assault, dispel myths about these violent crimes, and promote rape recovery services throughout the state.
“Maryland, like so many other states, has far too high an incidence of reported and unreported rape,” DHMH Secretary S. Anthony McCann said in a statement. “This campaign is designed to change that trend.”
Maryland funds assistance and rape prevention education through 18 rape crisis centers. Department of health research indicates an estimated one out of every eight adult women living in Maryland has been raped at some point in her life.
The campaign, developed by Baltimore-based Sahara Communications, has three key messages incorporated in the multi-media initiative:
1. No matter what, without consent, it?s rape.
2. Most rapists are known to their victims.
3. It?s never too late to begin to heal.
“A key component of this innovative campaign is designed to affect change in male attitudes and norms regarding relationships with women,” said Dr. Michelle Gourdine, DHMH deputy secretary for public health services. “This is important because in a majority of assaults, the victim knows her attacker. He could be her boyfriend, ex-husband or someone she met at work.”
Survivors often suffer chronic physical and psychological symptoms, including depression, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, sexually transmitted infections and a reduced quality of life. Many survivors wait a year or more to report their assault.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention backed the campaign through a Rape Prevention Education Grant. It covers broadcast, print and outdoor media advertising.
