After the Students Union
disassociated itself from the ludicrous alcohol sponsored drinkaware.ie
campaign it was only a matter of time before the Booze Bosses came up with
another wheeze to distract attention from the facts behind Ireland’s
massive alcohol related health and social problems. ‘Stop Out of Control
Drinking’ is the shiny new alcohol funded campaign that once again puts responsibility
for alcohol problems squarely on drinkers. Disturbingly one of its adverts
seems to suggest that victims of sexual violence who have been drinking are
responsible for being attacked.
In response to the advert Clíona
Saidléar, Director of the Rape Crisis Network Ireland, called for the removal
of the advert: "The belief that drunk girls are ‘asking for it’ is one
that needs to be strongly challenged as it is one that we know perpetrators use
to select and target their victims knowing this cultural attitude will mean
they get away with it. Disappointingly, the out-of-control campaign instead of
challenging it has reinforced it here."
The response of RCNI is only
one of many criticisms that the ‘Stop Out of Control Drinking’ campaign has received.
In addition the campaign has suffered from resignations of board members and
health organisations initially affiliated with the group. However, this should
cause little concern for Ireland’s booze industry. Diageo can easily throw
together another campaign, whilst using the present one to promote how socially
responsible they are. More importantly every minute of news and every inch of
column space spent discussing ‘Stop Out of Control Drinking’ is time and space
and energy taken away from discussing the root cause of drink problems: That
alcohol related violence, mental and physical sickness, and all that costs to
society, are a direct product of a deliberate policy by the Booze Bosses to get
people to drink as much as they can from as young an age as possible. Any
campaign that takes the attention from that basic fact is a considerable
success for the alcohol industry (and its many friends in Leinster House).
In my next blog I’ll be
looking at a document does spell out the facts in glaring detail; a document
that should be given out to every student at both third level and secondary
level education. It is a UK report called ‘They’ll drink bucket loads of the stuff’
and it is an analysis of alcohol industry’s own internal advertising and
marketing documents. Stay tuned.
Now read: Lies, damn lies and advertising. Part 2: Bucket loads!
Now read: Lies, damn lies and advertising. Part 2: Bucket loads!
Read the full RCNI response to
alcohol rape advert here
Related articles:
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look good, feel good and be in charge of your life as a student at NUI Galway
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