Rape can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time. But you can do something about it.
That?s the message that the Rape and Sexual Assault Prevention Program, along with Sahara Communications Inc., convey with their new campaign. It is aimed at dispelling major myths and misconceptions about rape.
“When people think about rape and sexual assault, they have a vision of a stranger raping them,” said Saran Martin, the program coordinator for the Rape and Sexual Assault Prevention Program. “That definitely happens, but 90 percent of the time, victims know their assailant.”
The campaign addresses other myths, including that rape only happens to women and that rape is somehow the victim?s fault, said Martin.
Posters, billboards and public service announcements, as well as a resource guide and dedicated Web site, make up the campaign.
“Instead of just focusing on one market, we tried to make it more statewide,” CEO and president of Sahara Communications Inc. Sandy Harley said of their campaign launch in three different Maryland regions. “This is the first-ever rape and sexual assault campaign, and we?re happy to be a part of it.”
The target audience includes women and men, because sexual assault is not just a women?s issue.
“Because we are focusing on prevention of sexual violence against women, we are engaging men to be a part of the process as well,” said Martin. “And while there are more female assault victims, there are male sexual assault victims as well.”
Sahara developed nine posters for the campaign, three of which are in Spanish. The Web site also translates into Spanish to accommodate Maryland?s second-largest spoken language, said Martin.
The paid public service announcements, which includes the billboards and print ads, will kick off on Nov. 8 and run through the first week in December, then run again in April 2007.
Contact the Agency
Sahara Communcations Inc.
1607 Saint Paul St., Baltimore
Phone: 410-576-7245
Web site: www.saharainc.net
