Finnish Broadcaster Mocked After Launch Of Bizarre Ad Showing Women How To ‘Avoid Rape’ [Videos]

Finland’s national broadcaster is being mocked online after launching a bizarre advert, said to show women how to avoid rape using what appear to be superpowers.

If the advert is to be believed, merely holding up your hand to the man and saying “no” will do the trick. If this doesn’t work, the woman should simply hit the attacker with her purse.

Yleisradio Oy (YLE) released the advert on Facebook, showing a woman fighting off her attacker by merely raising her hand and saying “no.” The advert then goes on to show that, if this doesn’t work, the woman can avoid rape by using other methods to fight off her potential rapist.

If merely holding up a hand and responding to the negative doesn’t work, YLE reckons the woman should just push the man away. The woman should raise both hands in a negative stance, seemingly pushing the man away through thin air.

It is believed Finland’s national broadcaster launched the advert in a response to an increase in sexual attacks across Europe in recent months, but the tactics they recommend have met with a whole load of humor across the Internet.

The video was uploaded to Facebook and claimed to show the top three methods against street sexual harassment, according to police. The video was uploaded to Facebook on January 29 and has received 362,771 views at the time of writing.

In the video, the woman appears to be some kind of superhero as she stops and turns around, raising her hand against the potential rapist. On seeing her brave stance, the attacker immediately seems to back away in fear. Just in case, the woman then raises both hands against the man, seeming to push him away through the air.

She then uses her purse several times to attack the potential rapist in her aim to avoid rape in the street.

The response on Facebook is varied, with some exclaiming with horror that women are put in such a difficult situation. Others mock the advert, asking if it is a joke.

One user, Jerrett TheBatman Becker, asks: “Is this a joke? Do the women of Finland have the force, or has everyone there just lost their marbles?”

Erkki Urho Ahonpää exclaims, “This is the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever seen come out of Finland. Whoever made this should be held accountable for the stupidity.”

Facebook user Remigiusz Beinkowski commented, “Wow, these police and governments are drastically reducing IQ averages – I think the requirement for these positions must be “completely brain dead.””

Another user asks, “Unfortunately, I can’t read Finnish. Are the Finnish comments mocking this as much as the English ones?” Probably.

You can watch the video below.

On their website, YLE explains (in the Finnish language) their thinking behind the training video, saying that body language plays a huge part in the fight to avoid rape. With the hand emphatically blocking the attacker and the loud expression of the word “no,” this should be enough to stop the sexual harassment.

Reportedly by saying “no” loudly, the woman then attracts the attention of passersby who can then come to her aid. However, they go on to explain how, should this not work, attacking the attacker is the answer.

After the advert was launched by YLE, one YouTuber even went so far as to make a Star Wars version of the anti-rape video where the woman uses various super hero powers against her potential attacker, including an iconic light saber instead of her purse.

Titling his production “Top three intergalactical [sic] methods against street harassment,” Julle 88 states in the description that he made the video just for fun.

“This video IS NOT meant to be offensive against YLE or anyone else nor is it a statement of any kind.”

[Photo via Facebook video]