The Home Office campaign comes amid low conviction rates for rape cases in England and Wales. Changes to the law are also being considered.

"We are launching an awareness campaign on March 14 to help tackle rape by educating young men about the need to gain consent before having sex,’’ a Home Office spokeswoman said.

"Giving consent is active not passive, and it’s up to everyone to make sure that their partner agrees to sexual activity,’’ the spokeswoman said.

The campaign will begin with two radio advertisements, followed by magazine advertisements and posters in men’s toilets in urban pubs and clubs, the spokeswoman said.

Consent is a central issue in the Sexual Offences Act 2003, which states that a person must agree to sex by choice and have the freedom and capacity to make a choice.

Solicitor General Mike O’Brien said the Home Office was also considering a change in rape laws to require juries to decide on whether women were too drunk to give consent.

In an interview for BBC Radio, O’Brien said that redrafting the law would stop cases being thrown out by judges and increase the number of convictions.

"It may be that the legislation needs some clarification, because these sorts of mistakes shouldn’t be being made,’’ he said.

Home Office figures show that rapists were convicted in only 5.8 percent of reported cases in 2004.

Research by Amnesty International last November found that a third of people in the UK believed a woman was to blame for being raped if she had behaved in a flirtatious manner.

More than a quarter also believed a woman was at least partly responsible for being raped if she wore sexy or revealing clothing, or was drunk, the study revealed.

"This campaign is a step forward,’’ said Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen.

"But it should be part of a wider campaign to tackle the triple problem of the high incidence of rape, low conviction rates and a sexist blame culture.’’