NORTHAMPTON VENUES JOIN SCHEME TO ELIMINATE SEXUAL HARASSMENT AS TOWN WELCOMES NEW STUDENTS

A traditional independent pub and a community hub are among the new venues to have achieved Shout-Up! Certification ahead of the new academic year

Shout-Up!, which is delivered by Northamptonshire Rape Crisis and funded by the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold, aims to upskill those working in Northamptonshire’s night-time economy so they can identify sexual harassment and intervene safely. 

Several Northampton venues including The Lab, The Garibaldi Hotel and Lamplighter are the latest to have had all their staff complete bystander intervention training, enabling them to be able to spot sexual harassment and make situations safe. 

The certification of these new venues brings the total number of bars and pubs taking a clear stance against sexual harassment in Northampton to seven with 70 staff members trained, and comes in time for the new academic term, as the University of Northampton welcomes around 12,000 students back to the town.

Shout-Up! certification, which lasts for two years with six-monthly assessments, also requires establishments to have a publicly available sexual harassment policy, to implement practices that protect staff and patrons from sexual harassment and have a documented procedure for dealing with incidents. 

Kirsty Wilkins, chair at The Lab, commented: “We are very excited about becoming a Shout-Up! Venue. We have found the training and support from Northamptonshire Rape Crisis very reassuring. Keeping our Community safe is of utmost importance to us, and so anything we can do to improve is taken on board and implemented. It's also been a great opportunity to form a stronger network with other venues in the area.

Stephen Mold, the Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, added: “I am very pleased to be able to work in partnership with Northamptonshire Rape Crisis to bring Shout-Up! to Northamptonshire as part of our strategy to make women and girls safer and create a vibrant night-time economy for everyone

“The Shout-Up! training is all about empowering people who work in venues to call out inappropriate behaviour and put people on the right path and staff who have taken part have already told me it has given them the confidence to challenge. 

“It was fantastic to visit The Lab and see how they will be able to put their training to use to keep their customers and colleagues safe.”

As part of Shout-Up!, which originally started in Newcastle upon Tyne in 2017, with Northamptonshire the first area outside the North East to adopt it, certified venues must:

• have all staff complete Bystander Intervention Training

• write and share sexual harassment policies protecting staff and patrons

• have a publicly available procedure for dealing with incidents of sexual harassment

• commit to making their venue a sexual harassment-free zone

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

• commit to undertake six-monthly reviews on policies, procedures and training that they must pass to retain their certification