When venues reopen let's ensure they are safer places for women
Campaigning to create a safer culture for women in clubs and music venues has always been a key part of White Ribbon UK's work. Over the last couple of years we have been getting to know Good Night Out, who provide training for venues to better understand, respond to and prevent sexual violence. Here Bryony Beynon from Good Night Out writes about their current offer for pubs and clubs in the hope that this difficult time can be used to ensure all venues have a healthier culture in the future.
Good Night Out Campaign is for safer nightlife. Founded in 2014, we help venues, pubs and clubs and more to deal with and prevent sexual harassment and assault in their spaces. The industry we work with faces an unprecedented challenge to deal with the ongoing impact of Covid-19. We also know that the social impact of the eventual end of lockdown and social distancing will be huge, because of course many of us have been missing our community spaces, whether that’s the gym or the pub! Alcohol-related harms often rise during the busiest of times for the industry and unfortunately gender-based violence, including sexual harassment and assault, is no different. How can pubs, bars, clubs and other venues plan for and prevent this?
According to recent research, the hospitality industry has a 25% gender pay gap for low-income jobs. This can mean that men in management positions may not have experience of the often insidious ways that sexual harassment is a daily reality for the women workers they manage, which can mean that clear safety policies are not always prioritised. In these trying times, we are supporting licensed premises to meet the unprecedented challenge of Covid-19 by sharing the skills and tools to build safer and more inclusive nightlife communities. Passionate about continuing conversations on preventing sexual harassment and assault, both online and off, join us for online learning and discussion until it’s safe to meet again.
We’re running a new 2hr professionals training session: “Understanding and Responding to Sexual Harassment and Assault in Licensed Premises” aimed at UK-based premises managers and supervisors or are otherwise involved in running a licensed venue. Like all our training, it will be delivered by two experienced sexual violence prevention facilitators from the Good Night Out Campaign. Together with a small group of participants in similar roles across the industry, we’ll discuss in a sensitive yet interactive way:
Sexual harassment, assault and consent laws in England and Wales
Myths and realities about sexual violence, alcohol, drugs and nightlife
Understanding the basics of perpetrator tactics on nights out
De-escalating and responding to disclosures with compassion
Reducing barriers to reporting an incident to members of staff or security
Next steps, accreditation information and advice on building new and existing safety policies.
Covid-19 is an ongoing pandemic, as is violence against women and girls. We have a unique opportunity to address this through taking time to upskill ourselves in responding with care to disclosures of sexual violence, and better planning and policies in our workplaces when they do reopen. Let’s use this difficult time to explore, learn and plan for the future.
We are a not-for-profit community interest company dedicated to supporting safety in nightlife. In light of the current financial pressures we know the sector is facing, we are offering tickets at a range of levels depending on your business size and ability to pay.
You can find out more about #NightlifeUnlocked here and Good Night Out here