Emily Atack slammed for fronting ‘tone-deaf’ campaign

Tigger warning: This article discusses sexual abuse

Anna Martin

Emily Atack has been slammed by sexual abuse survivors for fronting a “tone-deaf” campaign

Photos of the actress with the controversial slogan “I’m asking for it” printed across her face have been deemed “triggering” by survivors.

The campaign centres around the Right To Equality, which aims to follow countries like Sweden, Portugal, Iceland, Spain, Denmark, and Canada, in tightening the laws around sexual consent.

The creators of the petition said it was intentionally designed to “draw attention” so that consent is understood as not saying no, but instead saying a clear yes.

The campaign group is also selling a white t-shirt for £28 (€32) with “I’m asking for it” printed in pink block capitals on the front, and “Let’s change the law to require a clear yes to sex” in smaller writing on the back.

Dr Charlotte Proudman, the founder of Right to Equality and Women in Law’s Advocate of the Year 2023, posted on X: “I’m so excited to unveil our new campaign, in partnership with creative agency CPB and Emily Atack.

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A post shared by Emily Atack (@emilyatack)

“I’m Asking For It: Let’s change the law to require a clear yes to sex. Right to Equality is campaigning to update the UK’s law on consent to use an affirmative consent model. Sign the petition today!”

The petition has a target of 10,000 signatures and has already received over 7,000.

Ruby, a sexual abuse survivor who was left horrified after coming across the posters told Daily Mail: “It’s a horrible slogan.

“It made me recoil, it threw me right back into the memory of my own assault and hearing my attacker justify it using those words. I understand and support affirmative consent but that statement isn’t something that should be turned into a slogan.

“Those words reopen deep wounds for victims, it’s not a cute moment like they thought it would be.”

She continued: “Those words are still used every day to justify sexual violence. I absolutely want an apology, it’s very short-sighted and clearly whoever polls their slogans didn’t do a good enough job.

“Someone should have foreseen the more than justified backlash. It’s f*cking rancid.”

Speaking to BBC Breakfast about the campaign, Emily explained that the current situation of examining whether a victim said “no” is “not working”.

She added: “It may not be the perfect solution but [we want] to flip it around and say, we’re going to make this much easier – did that person say yes?”