Led by the Association of Alberta Sexual Assault Services (AASAS) and funded by the Government of Alberta, #IBelieveYou was a public awareness campaign aimed at educating the public on how to better respond to survivors of sexual assault.
Through Leger Research, AASAS polled 1001 Albertans before and after the campaign, asking two questions: If someone told you s/he had been sexually assaulted, would you know what to say? And, what would you say?
Results indicated, the number of people who would respond positively to a survivor more than doubled (from 21% – 44%). Examples of positive responses include, “I’m sorry that happened to you,” “It’s not your fault,” and “I believe you.”
Running province-wide for September and October, the #IBelieveYou campaign was supported by twenty-three post-secondary institutions, six government agencies, dozens of community organizations, and four national media partners including Bell Media, Shaw Media, NewAd, and SOS Children’s Safety Magazine.
Sexual assault is a severely under-reported crime. Up to 97% of assaults in Canada are never reported to police. Survivors often keep the assault secret even from their family or friends. Some survivors never tell anyone. This low reporting rate affects the safety and health of our communities – because people who need help don’t get it and because offenders are able to keep offending.
Survivors who get a positive response when they tell are more likely to get help and seek justice.
This campaign proves that we can make tremendous gains when we work together.
