Council Apology Over Sex Assault Tweet

Both organisations have since removed the tweets from their accounts and instead posted a statement apologising for how the original messages were perceived.

 

The original posts also contained a video titled "Know when to step in" as part of a wider campaign to encourage friends to look after each other on nights out.

 

The statement issued on behalf of Citysafe, Liverpool's Community Safety Partnership, says: "It was not our intention to blame anyone who has been subject to sexual assault, rape or any other crime."

 

"The only person ever responsible for making the decision to rape is the perpetrator.

 

"We apologise for not making that clear in our posts on social media."

 

It went on to explain that a partnership group which includes people from sexual violence support services, the council, police and local charities was consulted during the video's development.

 

The storyline of the video was also tested on focus groups, the statement adds, saying that no one consulted felt the campaign blamed victims "but when viewed in isolation the tweet has been perceived in that way and we are sorry for any distress caused".