Charity event for AIDS charity condones rape ‘joke’

The SSB - Safer Sex Ball (deemed one of the top 100 things to do before you die by FHM) - “Shag Mag” has been withdrawn because of a rape joke that was printed in it as part of a weight loss regime.  The Safer Sex Ball is organised by RAG (Raising and Giving) and Community Action every year to raise money for an AIDS charity.  This year it raised £40,000 on ticket sales.  However the ball itself encourages students to dress down as much as possible (in mid-winter!) and alcohol plays a large part in the event, leading to conditions in which people being taken advantage being a genuine concern, making this a circumstance in which a rape ‘joke’ is less of a ‘joke’ and more a legitimate fear.

The University Guild has taken swift action against RAG including an immediate investigation into why the ‘joke’ was allowed to be published, but the underlying issue is why violent rape jokes are now so acceptable as to get past the proofing stage, let alone why they are written in the first place. RAG has apologised unreservedly and withdrawn all leaflets (see full details on the Exeter Guild website: http://www.exeterguild.org/news/article/6001/101/) yet this rape joke certainly isn’t the first or the last on campus.

Please find updates on the SSB rape joke by the Equality and Diversity Officer for Exeter Students’ Guild, Maddie Sopper, who can be found on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/exetereandd.

Please send in any formal complaint to our guild rep James Fox on guildparticipation@ex.ac.uk.

Sara Bennett, the Activities & Volunteering Manager is hoping to coordinate a campaign on campus against sexual violence in light of this.

WARNING THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS REFERENCE TO SEXUAL COERCION AND  MAY CAUSE UPSET :

The joke for those of you who would like to see it, was as follows:

"Taking off her clothes:
with consent- 12kcal
without- 187kcal
(joke!)"