Gwent Police and the newly formed Onyx Unit which specialises in investigating sexual assaults today (Monday 30 November) launch a campaign as part of a national initiative which aims to raise awareness about rape and sexual assault ahead of the Christmas party season.
Detective Chief Inspector Steve Mogg Head of Serious Sexual and Violent Crime at Gwent Police commented:
“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 this week-long awareness campaign, we will be out and about in the pubs and clubs of Gwent making information available and talking to people about the best ways to avoid becoming a victim, but also how to avoid becoming a perpetrator.
We want to encourage young people to be aware of their alcohol intake and to think twice about going home with someone or inviting them back to theirs.
When alcohol is involved things can become blurred and confused but there are no grey areas in regards to sex without consent, as far as the police are concerned we treat that as rape.”
The campaign also aims to encourage more people to report incidents of rape and sexual assault. It’s believed that on average in the UK only 1 in 10 victims report rape to the Police.
DCI Mogg went on to say:
“I want to reassure people that we take rape extremely seriously and constantly strive to improve the service and support we give to victims.
The newly formed Onyx unit is made up of highly trained and specialist officers whose expertise is investigating sexual assaults. The Unit also offers help and support from the initial report and throughout the investigation until the case gets to court.
The Force has been working hard over the last year in partnership with agencies such New Pathways, BAWSO and Women’s aid to encourage victims to come forward. I’m confident that this work, as well as the recent increase in the public’s confidence in Gwent Police has resulted in more people having the confidence to report cases of rape.”
