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SEXUAL CONSENT CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED IN OXFORD
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• Rowan Honeysett-Williams helps promote the sexual consent campaign (Picture by David Fleming)
Council starts initiative to cut amount of sex offences in Oxford A NEW campaign to raise awareness and understanding of sexual consent was been launched in Oxford on Monday, to try and reduce the number of sexual offence cases in the region. It has been developed by the Oxford Safer Communities Partnership at Oxford City Council, and aims to encourage young people to explicitly ask for consent with all sexual encounters.
By Adam Flinn adam@taylornewspapers.co.uk
A website has been launched, with promotional material such as posters, beer mats and social media also being used to back it up. Liz Jones, domestic and sexual abuse co-ordinator for the partnership, said: “We were discussing whether or not we felt this
would be a valuable campaign, and felt there is a grey area when it comes to sexual consent. “I did a load of focus groups with young people, and it came apparent there was a need, and that we need to talk about it. “It varied from those who were very fully informed to those who weren’t informed at all, so we’re hoping to get people talking and being more respectful of each other.”
Rowan Honeysett-Williams, an 18-year-old student involved in the campaign, said: “A campaign on this topic is important so those who do not have a clear idea can fi nd out what consent is and how to treat their partners respectfully. “Sexual consent is an incredibly complex part of any relationship, and people are heavily influenced by the media and what their peers are saying,
which may lead to misconceptions of what sexual consent really is.” Police and crime commissioner Anthony Stansfeld said: “I fully support this campaign. I think it’s needed, as there’s a lack of understanding amongst many of the young people. “I hope this campaign will help. It’s not just in Oxford, it’s throughout the Thames Valley, and its prevalence tends to be
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much higher at weekends starting on a Friday night.” Other groups involved in the campaign include Thames Valley Probation and the Oxford • Continued on Page 3
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