Health and beauty retailer Superdrug has launched a wide-ranging new campaign designed to tackle what it calls ‘destructive non-consensual sexual behaviours’.
Spearheaded by reality TV star and revenge porn campaigner Georgia Harrison, ‘You Before Yes’ has been launched in partnership with a range of UK charities including Brook, Fumble, UK Says No More and Switchboard.
The campaign has been developed primarily in response to new research indicating a lack of understanding around consent, and the devastating impact that non-consensual behaviours can have on 18-21 year olds.
Led by an educational video featuring Harrison, the campaign highlights that everyone has the right to say no to sexual activity and to withdraw their consent at any time, and will be further supported by a dedicated microsite and in-store activations.
Alarmingly, more than a third of respondents (36%) have said that they have ‘gone along with’ sex even if they didn’t really want to, with three in ten saying that they did so out of fear of what would happen if they said no.
Subscribe to Marketing Beat for free
Sign up here to get the latest agency-related news sent straight to your inbox each morning
“I’m extremely proud to be a part of the Superdrug you before yes campaign. It is so important now more than ever that the younger generation understand the importance of consent,” Harrison said.
“The statistics revealed by Superdrug have clearly highlighted that more needs to be done to help educate young men and women on this subject. Now they are stepping up to raise awareness of the issues revealed and offer education and information to anyone who needs it.”
Moreover, a quarter (25%) of respondents said that gone along with unprotected sex when they didn’t to do so, with 41% admitting that this was out of fear of saying no.
Superdrug healthcare director, Caris Newson added: “I’m extremely proud to be a part of the Superdrug you before yes campaign. It is so important now more than ever that the younger generation understand the importance of consent.
“The statistics revealed by Superdrug have clearly highlighted that more needs to be done to help educate young men and women on this subject. Now they are stepping up to raise awareness of the issues revealed and offer education and information to anyone who needs it.”
