A charity for female victims of rape and domestic violence is considering launching a hard hitting new advertising campaign to reach younger victims.

The Women's Resource Centre (WRC) enlisted the help of six university students to investigate why less than a quarter of its clients fall into the 18 to 24 age bracket, a demographic widely believed to be the most at risk of rape.

The student team concluded that young women on the Island lacked awareness about the centre and were confused about what constitutes rape.

They devised an advertising strategy, featuring stark images of battered women, which will be considered by the WRC board next week. If the centre decides to go ahead with it, posters could be put up in bars, clubs and restaurants around the Island.

Student Omar Lodge told The Royal Gazette: "We were going for shock value. We wanted something that even if somebody wasn't going to read what was on it, it would catch their eye and make them take a second look.

"That was the main thinking behind using such harsh images. It's the shock value of someone thinking 'this could be me' or 'I know someone like this'."

He said the six-man student team — all of whom did the project as part of a ten-week internship programme hosted by ACE Group, Bank of Bermuda and Deloitte — researched campaigns overseas to see what worked best.

"We brainstormed ideas," said the 21-year-old, who attends St. Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The result is a series of photographs by Antonio Belvedere, of Stallion Productions, which show injured women, some of whom are gagged with masking tape across which phrases such as "please don't" and "scared" have been written.

Zenika Simons, 21, a student at Andrews University in Michigan, said: "We felt that pictures speak louder than words when it comes to advertising, especially for our age group.

"The Women's Resource Centre needed a younger perspective. Their techniques were great but for our target audience and people my age you need to be more 'in your face'."

Laura Bolton added: "In Bermuda, the advertisements tend to be more tame and we felt that by using a bold and eye-catching image we would catch people's attention."

The 22-year-old, who is at Queen's University in Ontario, added: "The placement of the posters in private places like doctors' offices and bathroom stalls also allows the images to be the focus but then the information shown on the posters to be absorbed."

The posters feature statistics from a survey conducted by the students in Washington Mall. They asked 60 women aged 18 to 24 and 60 older people questions about the WRC, domestic violence and rape.

Sixty nine percent of the younger group were aware of the centre, compared to 79 percent of the older respondents. Only 19 percent of the 18 to 24 year olds knew the centre had a crisis hotline, compared to 30 percent of the other group.

WRC director Kathy Harriott said of the plan: "I liked it. I thought it was quite strong and powerful. The pictures are very strong. I think they did a great job; they were very enthusiastic."

She said just 29 of the 133 women who received counselling at the WRC in 2007 were aged 18 to 24, despite the fact that women of that age are at a higher risk of rape, especially where alcohol or date rape drugs are involved.

Ms Harriott said younger women may feel invincible or even uncertain as to whether they have been a victim of rape or abuse.

She added that the centre needed to make more young women aware of the help available to them and that younger volunteers were also needed.

The WRC crisis hotline number is 295-7273. To find out more about becoming a volunteer call 295-3882, email wrc@wrcbermuda.com, visit the centre on Reid Street (entrance next to Music Box) or visit the Internet site at www.wrcbermuda.com