We were invited along to raise awareness of our services and meet students in the community
Trafford Rape Crisis has made further links within the local community as we were invited to have a stall at Trafford College’s freshers’ fair earlier this week.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, members of the organisation went along to raise awareness of our services, as well as inform students of the frequency of sexual violence against women and girls at the Stretford and Altrincham campuses.
The visit was part of our ongoing outreach campaign, dedicated to not only promoting the rape crisis service but also informing and educating the wider public on the topics of rape and sexual violence.
The main message on the days though, was the importance of obtaining consent before having sex: a topic that particularly resonates among this demographic group.
TRC gave out pens, pencils, condoms and sweets away to the student body. The first three items had our logo on for general brand awareness; the condoms had a further message “Get a YES before you undress!”.
These were part of a wider consent campaign being developed by Trafford Rape Crisis, which we are hoping to deliver on a wider basis to schools, colleges, universities and community initiatives in the Greater Manchester area.
Our campaign video outlines the most important messaging:
After their initial embarrassment (at the condoms mostly!), the students at the Altrincham site engaged with the TRC members having open conversations about consent, with a number of them going on to follow us on social media. Perhaps one of the most important takeaways is that while we have ‘crisis’ in our title, we are not just a service for those victims or survivors currently in crisis: we also engage in educating, training, activism, and long-term support.
The feedback from Trafford College was very positive, with the potential to further the partnership in the coming months as the college looks to run sessions on relationships and keeping safe in the lead up to Christmas. TRC may attend as a supporting expert to deliver training sessions on consent.
“Working with community bodies including colleges, schools and universities is hugely important to us,” says Rhea, Face-to-face Services Coordinator.
“It not only raises the profile of who we are and how we may be able to support those who need us; it’s part of a much wider campaign to educate and raise awareness around these issues.
“We already understand that sexual violence doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and many myths, misunderstandings and attitudes continue to dominate in our society. We can’t ever hope to change that unless we’re having those conversations. Outreach and awareness are a big part of what we do.”
We are very much looking forward to working closely with Trafford College going forward, and the upcoming Fresher’s fair at Manchester University that we have also been invited to attend.
