Pubs, clubs and bars urged to address sexual harassment
NIGHTLIFE venue owners are being urged to adopt a zero tolerance policy against sexual harassment and commit to proper staff training to stamp out the problem.
Camille Brouard from the Guernsey Women’s Collective has started an online petition calling for the owners of pubs, bars and clubs to not accept behaviour that makes anyone feel uncomfortable and fearful.
She said that unwanted sexual attention was rife in local night-time venues.
‘Myself and other people I know have experienced a range of things, from being stared at, or having inappropriate comments, people trying to dance with you when you’re not interested and then being aggressive about it and not giving you any space,’ she said.
‘I’ve had a friend who had their drink drugged in a Guernsey bar, I’ve had friends who’ve been sexually assaulted in venues in Guernsey, and I’ve heard about more experiences since we started the Guernsey Women’s Collective.
‘We’ve had people messaging us with their stories of harassment and assault as well, it is unfortunately very common.’
The message is that there is a clear distinction between harassment and just wanting to meet new people and trying out chat-up lines. More than 330 people have signed the petition so far.
The reaction from the owners and managers of venues to the petition has been mixed.
Tony Le Marchant from Folies d’Amour nightclub said that his door staff were constantly watching out for any behaviour that would make customers feel unsafe and that any complaints were handled promptly and passed onto the police.
‘It’s very, very rare that we get any problems here, and the door staff would deal with it. We remove people if they ever cause a problem,’ he said.
‘I’m not in favour of sending all my staff off for training because it could lead to litigation if they wrongly accused someone, so it’s best left to the police, they’re the ones that are trained for it.’
Ms Brouard said that harassment often comes with stigma and people are embarrassed to report it, so she is determined to talk about it more and change the narrative.
She added that she was not criticising the businesses, but wanted to offer solutions so that nights out could be focused on fun and freedom.
‘I’m really keen to work with nightlife venues and match them up with experts and sexual harassment training, so we have a better proactive approach towards how we treat safety in our community.
‘If any venues want to get in touch with me or the Guernsey Women’s Collective, they would be super-welcome. I’d be really happy to chat about things and hear any of their concerns and anything from their end that they want to do to help.
‘It’s a massive cultural issue and we can tackle it from lots of different angles, by working together we can change things and make it so much better for everyone.’
n The petition is at change.org/gsy-venue-training.
