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August 29, 2013 — Crime Prevention Ottawa and The Ottawa Hospital have joined forces to launch a provocative and hard-hitting sexual assault campaign to be displayed on OC Transpo buses.

The Don’t Be THAT Guy campaign seeks to raise awareness among young people about sexual consent. The hard-hitting posters target potential offenders, asking them to think responsibly before they act. With messages such as, “It’s not sex… when she’s wasted”, “It’s not sex… when she doesn’t want it”, and “It’s not sex… when she’s passed out”, the posters will appear in 800 OC Transpo buses for six weeks this fall, and again for four weeks in May 2014. This represents an impressive reach of nearly 160,000 young people between the ages of 12 and 34 on multiple occasions over each four week period.

“This public transport campaign comes on the heels of a successful Don’t Be THAT Guy campaign in local bars,” said Crime Prevention Ottawa Executive Director, Nancy Worsfold. “We need to keep the conversation going about this problem. Sex without consent is sexual assault, plain and simple.”

The Ottawa Hospital is supporting the campaign by coordinating the distribution and location of the posters around the City of Ottawa. The Nurse Practitioner who leads the hospital’s Sexual Assault and Partner Abuse Care Program, Tara Leach, created an advisory committee for the campaign and will facilitate an evaluation of the campaign once it is complete in June 2014. Campaigns like Don’t Be THAT Guy bring the conversation of consent forward. Leach is confident that having these posters in common areas throughout our city will initiate the important discussions we should all be having with our young men and women about consent and sexual activity.

“At The Ottawa Hospital, we have a specialized team of health-care professionals who provide not only the best in medical care to victims of sexual assault, but the best in emotional care as well,” said Tara Leach, Nurse Practitioner of The Ottawa Hospital Sexual Assault and Partner Abuse Care Program. “Through our work with these patients, we are discovering common trends with sexual assault cases. For example, contrary to popular belief, the most common drug used in a sexual assault is alcohol. We want to be a part of the solution. Through the Don’t Be THAT Guy campaign, we’re taking important steps towards prevention.”

For more information about the campaign and to view the posters, visit the Crime Prevention Ottawa website at www.crimepreventionottawa.ca.

Crime Prevention Ottawa gratefully acknowledges Sexual Assault Voices of Edmonton (SAVE), the Don’t Be THAT Guy campaign creator, for sharing their campaign materials. Their generosity and creativity will help educate a generation of young men in Ottawa about sexual assault.

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