A new sexual assault prevention campaign for secondary school students and university students will launch on Monday in Friesland.
Translation by Traci White
According to the CSG (Centre for Sexual Assault), which is behind the new campaign, young people between the ages of 12 and 24 are four times more likely to be victims of sexual assault than other age groups. Gerda de Groot, the project leader from CSG, told the Leeuwarder Courant that this is due to people in this age group reaching sexual maturity but still figuring out their identity and preferences.
“They’re still busy trying to answer big questions, like who am I, what do I want, what are my desires and my boundaries, both personally and sexually, how do I set those boundaries and respect boundaries set by others.”
CSG’s research and experience over time has revealed that university students in particular are frequently victims of sexual assault, but they rarely report incidents. Part of campaign’s goal is to raise awareness and help inform people about where to report and when: the CSG says that it is important for victims to seek help within seven days of an incident in order to have the best chance of avoiding pregnancy, STIs and to take DNA samples.
The campaign is also publicising a national hotline number – 0800 0188 – for victims to call where they can be informed about the nearest CSG facility. The CSG website also has information and resources available in English.
