A group of Cape Breton men are launching a campaign to help kick off Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
The Cape Breton Men Against Domestic Violence Committee hopes their ‘Don’t Be That Guy’ campaign will change the way men talk to one another about domestic violence and sexual assault.
“We have a role to play in getting the message out there, as men, that it's not acceptable and we have to be role models to tell other people that,” says Cape Breton Regional Police Chief Peter McIsaac.
As chief, McIsaac says his force responds to about 2,000 domestic violence complaints a year, a number he says is way too high and is the motivation behind the new poster campaign.
“I think the posters are amazing,” says Cape Breton Transition House Executive Director Helen Morrison. “I think they're direct and they need to be direct. I think they are certainly going to initiate conversation.”
The ‘Don't Be That Guy’ campaign is still relatively new, but its message is spreading fairly quickly. Launched in Edmonton in 2010, it has since become a rallying cry against domestic violence in several Canadian cities, including Halifax.
Men's attitude toward women has also become a hot button topic at Maritime universities after the recent scandal at Dalhousie's school of dentistry and the so-called 'rape chant' at St. Mary's University.
“It's very important for our young men at CBU to hear this message,” says Shawn Bethke, Cape Breton University Library Dean. “We're going to take this message back, put up these posters and make sure the education aspect of this campaign is brought forward.”
The posters will be displayed across town as a visible reminder of a problem that often goes unseen.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Ryan MacDonald
