Asda T-Shirt ‘Incitement To Rape’

Supermarket chain Asda has withdrawn a T-shirt from sale following complaints it was an incitement to rape. Rape Crisis Scotland launched a letter-writing campaign in an attempt to ban the £4 men’s garment.

The T-shirt showed images of women and the words “if at first you don’t succeed, buy her another beer”. An Asda spokesman apologised to anyone who had been offended by the slogan but added that there had been less than 10 complaints.

Template letters addressed to Asda on Rape Crisis Scotland’s website said the slogan showed “overt contempt” towards women. The letter continued: “These T-shirts are, however, plainly and simply an incitement to rape. That is not a matter of opinion, but of fact.”

The men’s T-shirts went on sale in January as part of Asda’s comedy range. About 15,000 were sold before the supermarket chain withdrew them from sale last week in response to the complaints.

An Asda spokesman said the T-shirts were “just a bit of fun.” He said: “Even though we have had less than ten complaints we have decided to withdraw this particular T-shirt. Naturally we are sorry that anyone found the T-shirt offensive.”

However, a spokeswoman for Rape Crisis Scotland dismissed Asda’s claims that the numbers of complaints had been low. “The T-shirt’s logo represents part of a culture that objectifies women and lays them open to predatory men,” she said. “The rape conviction rate is currently at 3.9%, which is an all-time low.

“This is not to be taken lightly, and a large corporation like Asda should take it very seriously. Their response to this issue just shows that they don’t.”