Existe Ayuda (Help Exists) Toolkit
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Public Service Announcement Scripts

Principal Author of This Section: Laura Zárate

Acoso sexual en el trabajo (Sexual Harassment at Work)
La violación entre pareja (Intimate Partner Rape)

Purpose: Promote greater awareness of sexual harassment in the workplace and of intimate partner sexual violence. The first PSA script defines sexual harassment, addresses some of its impact, and describes victims’ rights. The second PSA script defines intimate partner sexual violence, addresses cultural assumptions, and explains victims’ rights.

User Audience: Local victim service agencies to use during Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) campaigns and as teaching aids throughout the year.

Participant Audience: Spanish-language radio stations; community members; bilingual training workshop attendees.

Public service announcements (PSAs) can help victim service agencies reach out to and create awareness in various communities. Second-language announcements not only help target specific groups, but also communicate an agency’s respect for cultural and linguistic diversity. In the past 20 years, Spanish radio in the United States has grown into a major multimillion-dollar industry as Latin American immigrants have continued to arrive in many states that previously had not attracted Spanish speakers, like North Carolina, Georgia, Indiana, Missouri, Washington, and New Hampshire, according to Ethnic Media Here To Stay and Growing—A National Study on the Penetration of Ethnic Media in America, released by New America Media in 2009.

If you are interested in running PSAs on Spanish-language radio stations in your area, you should first acquaint yourself with their formats, programming, radio personalities, and audience before deciding on the most appropriate venues.

Once these are selected, contact the radio stations 2 months in advance, and schedule a meeting to both inform them of your agency’s mission and services and to learn about the stations’ submission requirements. When you submit the PSA script, include a cover letter that reiterates all that you have discussed and agreed to by phone (e.g., station endorsement, specific instructions) to the radio station.

If the radio station is willing to produce a PSA for you, meet with the radio staff who will be responsible for the production before the recording so that everyone is on the same page. Ask for—

  • Two to three voices (all female) (three for the first PSA and two for the second PSA).
  • A natural and not overly dramatic tone from the speaker.
  • Background music (if possible) in a genre that represents the target audience and that complements the message.
  • Leeway to sit in on the recording.
  • An opportunity to listen to the PSA before it is broadcast.
  • A copy of the recording that can be used in future campaigns or as a teaching aid during community education or training sessions.
  • Assurance that the PSA will include your agency’s name and services and that you have the right to reject a recording that does not meet your needs.
Office for Victims of Crime
810 Seventh Street NW., Washington, DC 20531
The Office for Victims of Crime is a component of the Office of Justice Programs,
U.S. Department of Justice.
Office of Justice ProgramsOffice for Victims of Crime. Justice For Victims Justice for All.