NSW Police have launched a new social media video campaign to encourage the community to report incidents of sexual assault to investigators.
Commander of the Child Abuse and Sex Crime Squad, Detective Superintendent John Kerlatec said the video campaign, #thereisnoexcuse, aimed to address community queries and concerns about the process of reporting sexual assault and available support services.
“NSW Police understand that reporting sexual assault can be distressing and traumatic for victims,” Detective Superintendent Kerlatec said, “and it’s always the choice of an individual whether to proceed with an investigation or not.
“Our experience demonstrates that not all people want incidents of sexual assault to be formally investigated, however, we strongly encourage victims and witnesses to come forward,” he said.
He said consent was a primary factor in every sexual assault, whether it be in an established relationship, a person connected on a dating site, a person met on a night out or a complete stranger.
“Sexual assault is a serious crime that can impact anyone within the community,” Detective Superintendent Kerlatec said.
He said that over the past few years there had been a steady increase in the number of adult sexual assaults reported to police.
“In 2015, we recorded 2,077 reports while last year police received 2,712,” he said.
“As an organisation, we want to make it clear, that all reported cases of sexual assault will be thoroughly investigated to ensure justice for the victim.”
Detective Superintendent Kerlatec said that in the five-part social media video campaign members of the public responded to commonly asked questions related to sexual assault before the same questions were then addressed by senior police.
He said the videos also featured responses from the Executive Officer of Rape and Domestic Violence Services, Karen Willis and Communications Activist, Ruby Claire.
The campaign is to be rolled out across the NSW Police Force social media pages over the next two months.
