NCJ Number
86462
Date Published
1981
Length
20 pages
Annotation
A crime prevention publicity campaign targeting rape victims in Bremen, West Germany, elicited unexpected resentment and public hostility from the feminist sector.
Abstract
A leaflet was distributed (21,000 copies) throughout the city as part of a preventive police response to the rising incidence of rape in Bremen between 1977 and 1980. It gave warning to potential victims to avoid situations liable to spark off the offense. It also contained a self-assessment questionnaire regarding personal demeanor and behavior to discourage victimization. Among the suggestions for warding off a rapist was 'loud prayer,' deliberately included for psychological, metaphysical, and publicistic purposes -- as a provocative element to incite controversy and draw public attention to the leaflet. The leaflet was distributed in two consecutive years because its initial publication in 1979 did not forestall continued increase in rapes, totaling 113 incidents. The second distribution was greeted with an organized women's response, including protest calls to the police and a publication in parody of the original, turning its message toward a male assaulter, who was advised to pray instead. Other public commentary critiqued the police leaflet for blaming the victims for rape and demanding self-denial of them. Using verbal violence and symbolic disrespect, women demonstrated at the offices of rapists' defense lawyers and the police administrator. These incidents exemplify how difficult it is for police preventive appeals to reach a supportive citizenry. Subsequent antirape measures in Bremen have concentrated on followup surveys and assistance to rape victims (141 in 1980) and a special hot line for crisis intervention with newly victimized women and girls. Six notes are given. Texts are provided of the feminist as well as the police publications.