A new campaign has been launched by Police Scotland to tackle Rape, Sexual Assault and Harassment by directly targeting men in Scotland. ‘That Guy’ is asking men in Glasgow and across Scotland to talk to their friends, fathers, brothers and sons about behaviour that is damaging to women – as well as looking at their own actions in the past. In a 60-second video, which has been viewed nearly 400,000 times, different men ask the camera scenarios which are commonly misconstrued as harmless by men and harassment by women. This is a great approach by the Police, but I would argue that if a so called man has the attitude of Rape, Sexual Assault or Harassment, it’s going to take a lot more than a video. Many of these people consider women as second class citizens. They need to be found out, identified and maybe then something meaningful can be done. It’s a start, that’s all it is, but a good start.
That Guy
I can’t watch this video without becoming incredibly emotional. I love this approach and think it’s a wonderful start. For far too long we’ve been saying “more needs to be done” – but what? It’s a minefield and can be incredibly overwhelming when we think of how much needs to be done. Where do we begin? With this. This video is meant to encourage and initiate conversation. By having these conversations that’s how we can begin to identify damaging behaviours and predatory individuals. A fantastic first step in the right direction. Now all we need is the police themselves to start thinking about their own attitudes!