Way back in March, we told you about Hollaback’s #GoodNightOut scheme. The whole idea – brought to you by the people who campaign for ways to battle the sort of sexual harassment women and LGBT people suffer in public spaces – was to ensure that pubs, clubs, bars and gig venues would not play host to harassment.
But now the scheme, which started off in London venues like super-club Fabric, east London venue Dalston Superstore, and university union bars, like the University of London Union (and many more) is to be extended around the country. Yep, the anti-grope police is coming to a bar near you.
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It’s really good news because the scheme involves volunteers from Hollaback training staff, management and security on ‘how to deal with and prevent the harassment of women and LGTBQ people on their premises.’ Every participating club can then put up a poster like this one:
We’ve seen a few about and it does make us feel pretty secure about ourselves, knowing that the bar staff aren’t only there to sell us drinks, and the bouncers aren’t only there to search your bags on the way in.
You see, if gropers, leerers, toilet-loiterers (seriously, we were at a club the other day and a man was literally pacing outside the ladies’ waiting to accost any and every woman who walked in or out) and their ilk are reprimanded for their behaviour by staff, then it’ll stop them – and others – harassing other people. That in turn makes clubbing, drinking, going to gigs, concerts and just generally socialising with the general public safer for women and LGBT people.
READ MORE: Columbia’s Got Its Very Own Grope Police For Public Transport
Kirsti Wier, a spokesperson for Fabric has said: ‘Being part of Good Night Out is soooo important to us as a music space, as we want everyone to be able to enjoy themselves and feel safe in our venue. We’ve received some really positive messages from women thanking us for taking this stance and having their backs since we started publicising the campaign.’
We all agree this is a great campaign, right? Well, if you’re keen on it coming to your city – they’re looking to launch it over Freshers’ Week(s) in cities like Edinburgh, Glasgow, Norwich, Medway Towns in Kent, Oxford, Nottingham, Coventry, Brighton, Bristol, Sheffield, Limerick and Galway – then here’s how you can help.
First off, though this sounds like the type of scheme that the government should be rolling out (just think of how much money the police could save if loutish behaviour was curbed by venues) – it’s a totally volunteer-led project. So one way you could help is by joining your local Hollaback.
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Another way you could help is by donating to the #goodnightout’s crowd-sourced fund, which is listed on Indiegogo. The money will go to design and print work, a website, training for organisers and admin and delivery costs. If you’re up for that, just visit this link. And depending on how much you donate, they’ll reward you with things like badges, flyers, all the way up to personalised anti-harassment training sessions for the staff in the company you work for.
Are we happy that a campaign like this has to exist? Not really. Are we happy that it does exist? Definitely.
Like this? You might also be interested in:
‘Sexual Harassment Was An Accepted Part Of Parliament Culture’
Woman Films Her Catcallers, Gives Them Cards To Stop Them Harassing Women
Follow Sophie on Twitter @sophwilkinson
Picture: Rory DCS
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.