Prepared by: Jenna Walther
Prepared for: PTC 604- Health Communication
Introduction
Women in the twentieth century fought hard for voting rights, equal opportunities, careers,
education, socialization, and sexuality. This movement provided refreshing freedoms, but also
delivered an upheaval of new dilemmas. The caveat: women’s roles in society are changing the
“culture” by challenging traditional beliefs, values, and attitudes. With women’s new role and
sexuality brought a slew of social issues to the surface of our society. It allowed the actions of the
past to be justified and even detrimental to the future of women.
The phenomenon of American Rape Culture became an idea that actual condones rape in
our society due to its justification and mainstream stereotyping. Rather than “don’t rape” it is
imagined as “don’t get raped” leaving the blame upon the physical appearance and behaviors of
the individual. This further leads to the societal belief of rape myths. “She was asking for it”,
“Women fantasize about being raped”, “Only black men would rape a white woman”, “this can
never happen to me”. It is these exact thoughts that hold a society back from understanding and
caring about one another.
Rape is an act of violence, not a “crime of passion”. No women “asks” for it by what she
wears, but it is how these instances are viewed by a society that has closed its mind and ears to
the real victim. In addition to this crime, a widely accepted social norm, such as drinking, only
confuses the concept of this dilemma. The nature of alcohol not only lower inhibitions, but allows
for forgetfulness and unmemorable experiences; also known as drug-facilitated rape or date
rape. When a person is under the influence, than rape can be misconceived; the perpetrator is not
to be blamed for their actions and the victim retires to self-blame, guilt, and assuming
responsibility for their actions.
From the faulty perspective of American Rape Culture, a very popular rape myth is a
woman walking along, at night, in a dark place, when a stranger who is lurking somewhere grabs
her and tears off her cloths and forcefully has his way with her. The fact is that most rapes occur
by an acquaintance, date, or close friend or relative—in other words someone who has gained
some type of trust in a person’s circle. Why do these myths exist and why are they believed? It is a
justification for a perpetrator’s actions and a victim’s vulnerability and shame.
Vision & Mission
My vision is for women to not shut their minds to the possibility that this situation could
happen to them. Awareness and knowledge must be disseminated and preventative steps
taken. Women are able take power and control in their own hands. Not being aware, or not
realizing, that you can be a victim is scarier than any rape myth out there.
Waking up naked, disoriented, and feeling violated is one of the most dehumanizing
experiences, but not an unfathomable one. My mission is to raise awareness and
consciousness to this matter, perhaps even deterring perpetrators on college campuses.
DON’T LET MY STORY BE YOURS
The topic of rape prevention is meaningful to me due to a past history of
sexual abuse in my life. A year and a half ago, on my birthday, March 29, 2012, I
went to an upscale sports bar in Hoboken, NJ. I was feeling a little down from my
recent breakup, but that night I met a seemingly really nice man. We talked for
hours and exchanged phone numbers at the end of the night. On my way home,
he texted me that he had a great time and would like to schedule a date soon. I
responded that we should.
He invited me to a business event at Harrah’s scheduled for April 11. His
friends would be there and there would be many other small business owners
there and we would eat and have a few drinks. I thought that it would be fun,
social event. At that time, I 1was extremely busy with school, but we talked on
the phone and through text throughout the day, every day. We got to know each
other, despite our hectic schedules. He had the cutest niece, he seemed like a
hard-worker and owned a pizzeria restaurant. He enjoyed going to the gym,
jogging, and other activities that I had the same interest in. I was so excited to go
on our first date.
I had class that day at Rutgers Newark. I rushed home to get ready. Right
before I was leaving, I told my mom that I had a bad feeling. I ignored the feeling,
since I had been excited not too long before. I told myself to just take it easy and
be myself. When I arrived, I forgot about all of the negative thoughts and when I
saw him, I was immediately happy again. We talked and laughed. My mom and
my best friend Jen checked in with me multiple times via text. I don’t know when
the exact point was, but I started to feel this wave of euphoric intimacy and empty
calm rushed through my body. I did not realize it, but I was in trouble.
I am not going to delve into the nitty-gritty details, but it is obvious what
happened next. I awoke around three in the morning; I didn’t remember much,
but I was extremely angry and cold. I went to the hospital, did not press charges,
and the rest is history. He saw me as vulnerable and perhaps I was at the time.
I never thought that this would happen to me.
Target Audience
Many sources claim that females between the ages of 16-24 are four times more likely to
be date raped than any other age group. It is very important to bring awareness to NJIT’s
campus since 1 out of 4 women are a victim of date rape, or a victim of attempted date rape
during their college years (University of the Sciences). My target audience is for females on
NJIT campus between the ages of 18-24.
Communication Objectives
Many young females think that are invincible
being raped. Another rape myth: “It won’t happen
to me. I am careful and usually have good
judgment of others and it only happens to a certain
type of female”. Many times, people do not
consciously or immediately think of the idea at
all. As humans we are vulnerable to what our
conscious is not aware of—or what is held in our subconscious. We should not assume every
person is out to rape us, but 33% of males said they would date rape someone, if they would
not get caught. A type of person who will rape someone is not going to be outwardly
aggressive and demeaning—this is what catches us off guard. They are deceptive and some
are masters of deception. Some of the perpetrators are close family friends and tend to be
trusted more than an acquaintance or stranger. This is a scary fact.
Date-rape statistics are inconclusive due to the nature of this issue and left unreported.
In most cases
 many victims are unsure or do not know what happened
 victims feel responsible or guilty for what happened.
Communication Channels
In the midst of the NJIT campus, there are many resources for women. There is the
Murray Center for Women in Technology, Student Activities Council, Center for Counseling,
the NJIT Student Senate has many connections, such a Public Relations, that can promote
events and maintain bulletin boards around campus. NJIT Public Safety and police
department can help support my campaign called R.I.G.H.T (“Rape Isn’t Going To Happen
Tonight”). To have stakeholders behind this campaign would increase effectiveness,
awareness, and prevention of drug-facilitated rape.
Spreading the word
Hanging posters and bulletins around campus while using social media connected with
NJIT, I could promote events, distribute materials such as surveys, pamphlets, and drugdetection strips. To find people within my targeted audience of this proposal could lead to a
new organization on campus. A forum or blog can be created where females talk about
experiences, find information, resources, and help, with links to “share” on Facebook and
Twitter to spread the word.
Message Concepts
Using gain-frame messaging is important for persuasive purposes for a sensitive issue
such as rape or drug-facilitated rape. It is important for the audience to feel that they can take
preventative steps and acquire knowledge about the issues or in order words raise selfefficacy. I also tried to bust the “rape myths” that are popular in our society. It I import to be
informed, having knowledge and awareness of the situation, in order to take control and not
be vulnerable to this dilemma. Using references to, or stories about, others (a type of
inoculation) abstract images, unemotional, and nonvivid messages are best for this type of
campaign since we do not want to attack the individual because it could make them become
defensive or offended.
Facebook, Twitter, and Print Ads will all comply with the same messaging concepts. On
Facebook, female students from NJIT can share stories, video, advertisements, and thoughts
about experiences they have had to support empowerment among the target audience. It can
also be used as a forum/blog where women can share stories and provide support. Twitter can
be used as a brief reminder to females before they go out at night to a social event or date.
These messages would be more direct, but still reference “the other” such as: “Women in
control, avoid waking up in strange places”.
I would use primarily social media to launch campaign and spread the word. I would use
bulletins, photos, and advertisements to catch the eye of the targeted audience. I would walk
around campus with promotional kits, pamphlets, and surveys. Surveys could be filled out
and pamphlets can be viewed online as well.
Message Created for Campaign using MessageWorks
It is a dark night. A young college female is walking alone in the dark from her night
class back to her dorm. A man with beaming eyes lurks behind shadowy trees. As the girl
walks past, he grabs her. He takes her to a dark alley and strips her of her clothes and
performs forceful intercourse upon her. He leaves her there when he is finished and runs from
the scene. This is woman’s worst nightmare. This scenario is a common “rape myth”.
Many believe that this is the most common way rape occurs. In fact, a “stranger” less
frequently commits rape. 73% of sexual assaults were committed by a non-stranger.
In most cases of rape, women between 16 and 24 years of age are four times more likely
to be raped than any other age group. A very popular place for rape victims is on college
campuses. It is usually an acquaintance, friend, or someone who is trusted by the victim.
Situation
It has been a long stressful week of schoolwork and a young female heads to the bar with
some friends for a night of drinking and socializing. A cute guy is eyeing her from across the
bar. They make eye contact exchange shy smiles. He heads towards her and greets her with
his drink in hand. He offers to buy her a drink. She accepts, who doesn’t love a free drink?
They start conversing. He keeps buying her drink after drink.
Statistics about this situation:
 “Alcohol was a factor in 61% of Kanin’s sample of college date rapists, and 76% of his
sample admitted to attempts to intoxicate a female date” (Kanin, 1985).
 “Men who have committed sexual assault also frequently report getting their female
companion drunk as a way of making it easier to talk or force her into having sex”
(Abbey, McAuslan, & Ross, 1998).
Similar situation, different method:
It has been a long stressful week of schoolwork and a young female heads to the bar with
some friends for a night of drinking and socializing. A cute guy is eyeing her from across the
bar. They make eye contact exchange shy smiles. He asked the bartender what she was
drinking and heads towards her to greet her. In his hands, he
brings a fresh drink for her. She has already had a few drinks and
accepts the drink. The man has already slipped a foreign
substance into her drink.
Statistics about this situation:
 Drinking lowers inhibitions and alters judgment. “Alcohol
can be a disinhibitor and increase sexual impulsivity, as
well as lower women’s detection of risk and impair their
ability to resist assault” (Abbey, 1991).
 “The media has labeled drugs such as Rohypnol and GHB
as the date-rape drugs of the present, these are only two of
the many drugs used to incapacitate a victim. Of the 22
substances used in drug-facilitated rapes, alcohol is the most common” (LeBeau, M., et
al., Recommendations for Toxicological Investigations of Drug Facilitated Sexual
Assaults, Journal of Forensic Sciences. 1999.)
Being aware of these situations will females protect themselves from drug-facilitated
rape. Having a couple of drinks helps relieve stress, but going home, in control, benefits
health and prevents the chances of drug-facilitated rape. The social consequences of not
having too many drinks may make someone seem like “party pooper”. Not accepting a drink
may seem unsocial. Not accepting a drink that is open or too many drinks is empowering and
reduces the risk of drug facilitated rape. Women who are in control, avoid waking up in
strange places.
Model of Outline and Timeline: Upcoming weeks for R.I.G.H.T
Campaign
Goal: To prevent
drug-faciliated rape
Survey targeted
demographic
Distribute
pamphelts
Objective: Raise
Awareness of this
issue on NJIT
Campus (females
18-24) by 30%
Objective: Get
stakeholders at NJIT
for campsign
Campaign using
Social Media &
Print
Work with Murray
Center for Women
in Technology
Promote campaign
with ads on campus.
Deliverables

Survey
o Digital Survey

Date Rapeless Pamphlet
o Digital Pamphlet
o
Facebook Page
Twitter Page
3 Ads busting “rape myths”


