Local venues receive training to tackle sexual harassment
Venues from across the borough took part in free training sessions on tackling sexual harassment in Hackney’s pubs and clubs, as part of Hackney Council’s Reframe the Night campaign.
The training was delivered by Good Night Out, who work closely with late-night venues to help them respond to sexual harassment in the best possible way. It covered a range of topics around sexual harassment, such as responding to complaints on their premises, supporting people who have been affected by harassment, and the laws relating to sexual harassment.
Venues also shared ideas on how to stamp out damaging myths around sexual harassment – from victim blaming to using alcohol as an excuse for inappropriate behaviour - which is the ethos of the Reframe the Night campaign.
Venues across the borough will also be provided with a free toolkit offering guidance on spotting and preventing potentially harmful situations. This also includes Reframe the Night campaign posters and pledge certificates, which venues can display on their premises to show their commitment to tackling sexual harassment and raising awareness of the support and guidance available.
Caterina, Supervisor, Ridley Road Market Bar, said: “As a woman, I’ve experienced this behaviour directly, but that didn’t mean that I knew how to deal with it in a work environment. This training has provided me with a direct protocol on how to deal with harassment in night time spaces. It’s good to have an objective and to look through everything relating to this issue, and the training showed us easy steps to follow. I think that this programme should be compulsory for everyone who works in venues.”
We have a zero tolerance approach to sexual harassment in Hackney, and this training is a prime example of how we’re reframing the night and working closely with our venues and partners to create a safe, inclusive and welcoming night time economy for residents, visitors and businesses.
Combined with the extra policing and resources on the ground being delivered through our Late Night Levy, this sends a clear message that sexual harassment has no place in our borough.
The training will be delivered to all venues who have signed up to the Council’s night time safety charter Hackney Nights, which encompasses all things safety-related in the night time economy. Hackney Nights will oversee a range of campaigns designed to drive behaviour change to create an inclusive, positive and welcoming night time economy, as well as training sessions for venues on key night time safety issues, such as substance misuse, conflict management, sexual harassment and more..
All activities under the Charter are funded by Hackney’s Late Night Levy, which is paid for by local late-night licensed venues to contribute towards policing and the control of late night alcohol-related crime and disorder to make Hackney safer for all.
If you need support around harassment, you can:
Call 999 if an incident has just occured
Call 101 or the Victim Support helpline on 0808 1689 111
Or report online: https://www.met.police.uk/ro/report/
If you're a local business, you can sign-up to Hackney Nights and receive free training on a range of night time safety issues.