TRIGGER WARNING: RAPE, RAPE CULTURE AND VICTIM BLAMING

Control Tonight is apparently a group dedicated to curbing “irresponsible drinking” in youths.  And what’s the best way to do that?

Oh, right.  Scare tactics.  And?  Victim-blaming.

If you are disgusted, please contact someone at contact@controltonight.com.  Elephant Journal even has an example e-mail up:

To Whom it May Concern:

I recently viewed one of your Control Tonight campaign ads against
teen drinking, in which a pair of apparently female legs are sprawled
across a tile floor with underwear around the ankles and a message
reading “02:19A.M. She didn’t want to, but she couldn’t say no.” As a
Pennsylvania resident and taxpayer, not to mention an educator and a
victim of sexual assault, I find this advertisement incredibly
offensive and potentially harmful to the very demographic it is
purporting to protect.

The advertisement implies that unwanted sexual advances are the fault of the victim, not the assailant, and that victims of sexual assault are only to be held blameless insofar as they are sober, if ever.  Rape, and sexual assault more generally, are not the results of
actions controlled by the victim–and that includes the victim’s
choice whether or not to have a drink that night. This fact is part of
the definition of assault, and your advertisement’s insinuation
otherwise is not only emotionally hurtful and false, but it is also
potentially dangerous in its implicit excusing of sexual predators for
their actions, as long as their victims have had something to drink.

Tonight, you have made me feel ashamed to call myself a Pennsylvanian.  If you actually care about the young women of Pennsylvania, I demand that you reconsider your campaign: Pull this advertisement and those like it from circulation immediately.

Regards,
*Insert Your Name*