More venues join initiative to stop sexual harassment on nights out

APOLL has revealed that 73% of women in Devon have been sexually harassed on night out.

Meanwhile, more Torbay bars and pubs are joining an initiative to make nights out safer for everyone as part of a crackdown on bad behaviour.

Another seven licensed venues in Torbay have received their ShoutUp! certification, joining the eight which have already been certified.

They are Offshore Bar, Otto, Revolution, Soho, The Riviera International Centre, Twenty1 and Viva.

Shout-Up! is a Torbay Council initiative to make bars, pubs, clubs and licensed venues free from sexual harassment.

The poll conducted by Shout-Up! last month revealed almost threequarters of women have been sexually harassed on a night out in Devon, while 68% of people have seen someone else being harassed.

Eunice Godinho, assistant manager of newly certified Otto, said: “Everyone deserves to be able to go on a night out and enjoy themselves without feeling unsafe.

“With enough people taking on this mindset now, it won’t just be us the venues that benefit, but everyone, especially the younger generations that have yet to experience their first night out, and shouldn’t be experiencing any kind of harassment.”

Shout-Up! venues must complete several tasks to achieve certification, including:

» Having all staff complete bystander intervention training delivered by experts from Devon Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Services

» Writing and sharing sexual harassment policies protecting staff and patrons

» Having a publicly available procedure for dealing with incidents of sexual harassment

» Committing to making their venue a sexual harassment-free zone

» Displaying visible signage explaining their participation in the scheme and what patrons can expect to happen in the event of sexual harassment

» Committing to undertaking sixmonthly reviews on policies, procedures and training to retain certification.

The training and coaching provided by Shout-Up! is delivered by a team at Devon Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Services, which has expertise in sexual harassment, gives oneto-one support to all certified venues helping them train new staff and maintain standards.

Mandy Barnes from Devon Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Services said: “Since we launched Shout-Up! in November 2023, more than 150 venue staff have received training, increasing their understanding of the issues and giving them the skills needed to intervene.

“Having visited many of these venues and spoken to their staff, I’ve been very impressed by their enthusiasm and commitment to making

Torbay the best and safest night out.”

Scott McKenna, general manager of Viva, on Torquay harbourside, said: “With workshops, training sessions and advocacy, Shout-Up! is supporting us to promote consent, boundaries and bystander intervention. We’re glad to help showcase the positive change being made here in Torbay. We hope to be a beacon of hope and a helping hand for whoever needs us within our community.”

» Bars, pubs or clubs that want to be involved should visit shoutup.org/ torbay.

Matt Cardy/Getty Images ⟫ Another seven pubs, bars and clubs in Torbay have joined the Shout Up! scheme which aims to put a stop to sexual harassment in licensed premises