Sarah Willingham
- 43% of young people said that they had been intentionally or unintentionally left on their own in a bar or club.
- Over half of people (53%) aged 18-30 questioned said that they had felt unsafe or uncomfortable on a night out.
- One quarter said that they didn’t believe they would be able to tell the difference between someone who was drunk and someone who’d been spiked.
- Young people are calling for venues to make people feel safer by having safe waiting areas, phone charging sockets and better trained staff.
New research by leading bar group Nightcap PLC shows that young people are being left alone on night’s outs with 48% of women and 31% of men revealing that they had been left. Over half of those questioned said that they had lost their friends in a crowded venue and 33% said that their friends had left early.
Other reasons include:
- 47% of those questioned said that they couldn’t communicate with their friends (e.g. phone battery died).
- 30% said that they had left of their own accord.
- One quarter (25%) said that their friend went home with somebody else or hooked up.
- 24% said that they had had an argument with their friends.
The research was commissioned by Nightcap PLC, which has 36 bars and restaurants across England, as it launches its ‘Nightcap Safer Together’ campaign. The campaign, which starts on March 31st, will focus on customer safety and security throughout all its venues and will encourage bar-goers to look out for each other.
As part of the new campaign Nightcap is launching a charter which includes a pledge to provide extensive training to staff. The new training will focus on empowering staff to make sure everyone feels safe in Nightcap venues and will include specific training on vulnerability awareness, dispersal protocols and how to support victims of intoxication, violence, aggression, drugs and spiking if these incidents occur. Going forward, the mandatory training will form part of all company inductions and training programmes for both internal team members and external security agencies that Nightcap work with.
Sarah Willingham, CEO and Founder of Nightcap PLC comments: “This research shows that we are ‘safer together’ on nights out. We need to have each other’s backs and ensure that we’re all looking out for each other. From our friends to the staff in our bars, we must do all we can to make sure that people feel safe and are as safe as they can be. It’s so important to me that the women and men in our bars feel that they can let go and have a great night out in a safe environment. At Nightcap we are training all our staff and are committed to making sure that everyone feels safe with our new charter which we’ll be launching this Friday. Whether it’s needing a safe place to report anything that has made you feel uncomfortable, taking time out or simply charging your phone so you can send that all important ‘I’m home safe’ message, we will have your back.”
“I’ve spent decades in this industry and its work like this that really matters – I hope that more people will get behind our campaign so our customers feel that we are all ‘safer together’”
Nightcap’s charter will include tips and their commitment for people on how to keep safe in their venues. These will be available to all customers and will be promoted in all Nightcaps venues.
Our commitment:
- Bad vibes – If you feel uncomfortable in anyway, please let a member of our team know.
- Better together – Stay together and look out for each other.
- We’ve got you – Free spiking test kits available behind the bar.
- Stay juiced – Ask us for a phone charger cable. Because ‘I’m home safe’ texts are important.
- Check yourself – We have a zero-tolerance approach to abuse, hate, assault or harassment of any kind.
