Sober warning for partyggoers

POLICE are on a mission to protect revellers from becoming victims of rape as the party season approaches.

In the run up to Christmas, officers become increasingly concerned about those who drink large quantities of alcohol and leave themselves vulnerable and more likely to become a victim of a number of crimes.

Between April and October, there were 526 rapes and attempted rapes reported in Greater Manchester — alcohol featured in approximately two thirds with this figure expected to increase in the run up to and over the festive period.

Supt Phil Owen of GMP’s local policing improvement branch, said: “As the Christmas party season approaches, we want people who are going out to have a good time but to keep themselves safe.

“As part of a week-long awareness campaign, we will be using a number of tactics such as distributing posters to licensed premises to highlight important messages such as, ‘sex without consent is a crime and can lead to a lengthy jail term’ and ‘let your hair down, not your guard’.”

Several adverts enforcing the message “No Consent No Sex” will be aired to highlight the effects of rape, the importance of reporting it and the support available.

Supt Owen added: “Through this campaign, we also want to encourage people to report rape to us.

“I want to reassure people that we take rape extremely seriously and constantly strive to improve the service and support we give to victims.

“It is a very traumatic and upsetting time for victims, which is why we have specially trained officers who can give help and support from the initial report and throughout the investigation to going to court.”

As well as the police, there are a number of other organisations in place to support victims of rape such as St Mary’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre, Victim Support and the Witness Service.

Dr Catherine White, clinical director at St Mary’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre, said: “St Mary’s is an independent service that offers free and confidential advice to all victims of rape.

Anyone who has been assaulted — whether recently or in the past — can access our services directly.

“These services include a comprehensive examination as well as one to one counselling and advice on related health issues.”