A new sexual assault prevention campaign is underway in Saskatoon, telling young men “Don’t be that guy.”

Saskatoon is the fifth city in Canada to promote the campaign that targets 19- to 25-year old males with bathroom posters in bars around town. The main drive is to tell men “to not take advantage of women when they are intoxicated, and not to intoxicate women for the purposes of sex,” said Heather Pocock, assistant director of the Saskatoon Sexual Assault and Information Centre.

Don’t Be That Guy is a partnership between Pocock’s organization, the Saskatoon Police Service, the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority and Saskatoon Crime Stoppers.

Most campaigns like this are about telling women how to stay safe but neglect to properly educate men about their responsibilities. But “statistically, sexual assault is a male crime against females,” said Pocock.

The campaign does not seek to bash men, she said. Edmonton, another participating city, has seen positive results from the campaign.

“They’ve had a lot of really good feedback, some negative but mostly good feedback,” Pocock said.

One poster shows a woman unconscious on a couch with a caption: “Just because she isn’t saying no doesn’t mean she’s saying yes.” Another, more blunt poster that ultimately wasn’t approved, says “Just because she’s drunk, doesn’t mean she wants to f**k.”

The campaign is not just about sexual ethics, however, but also about the law.

“The criminal code is quite clear that if a person is intoxicated, they are unable to consent to sexual activity,” said Carolyn Hlady, acting staff sergeant in the sex crimes unit of the Saskatoon Police Service.

Hlady was careful to mention that “two people can have too much to drink and still have consensual sex” but that consent still needs to be explicit and freely given.

“You talk to men and you ask them that question, ‘What did she do to consent?’ and they’ll say ‘Nothing.’ And I’ll say, ‘That’s sexual assault.’ ”

Police statistics show there were a total of 184 sexual assault reported in 2011 involving adults. The number involving alcohol or drugs was 63. In 25 per cent of the reports, there is no definitive indication that alcohol or drugs were involved. This could mean that either the category was not completed or at the time of the report it was unknown.

Hlady says societal biases tend to put the blame for such incidents on women for not fighting back or saying no, but “there’s no textbook way to respond” and it should be men’s responsibility as well to avoid sexual assault.

The posters are already in place in various bars around town and will soon be on campus as well, at Louis’. The campaign is being conducted by Captive Audience, which has a near monopoly on such advertising in Saskatoon, ensuring that drunk men everywhere are reminded of their responsibilities while standing at urinals.

“You wouldn’t want this to happen to your mother or your daughter, so think twice about your attitudes,” said Pocock.

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Image: supplied