Birmingham and London nightclub Night Owl focuses on women’s safety

The measures come as ‘spiking’ concerns grow.

Arith Liyanage, Owner of the Night Owl clubs:

“It’s a big concern for our customers, particularly women, and we thought we had to do something special for them and demonstrate we take it seriously.”

With spiking increasing tenfold across all areas of the UK, Night Owl – a nightclub in Birmingham and London – are sharing their measures to help combat the issue and make women feel safe on a night out, something that should be a given.

The past two years, without a doubt, a disastrous time for late-night venues. First, the lengthy closures due to the pandemic, and now the adverse publicity and reputational damage emerging from an unexpected rise in spiking cases.

Whether it be by adding something to a victim’s drink or the new reports of spiking via needle injections, customers’ concerns continue to rise surrounding the issue, and the media is keeping a close eye on the topic.

Night Owl note in their guide that it’s their – and every club’s – duty to ensure customers feel safe in venues and that they can report any issues they might be having to a member of staff, knowing that their concern will be heard and action will be taken.

Some of the key measures include, ‘High level training for all staff in spotting concerned customers (i.e. signs if someone looks in distress)’, ‘Test strips if drinks look suspicious’, ‘Drinks toppers’, ‘Code words’ and ‘Safety signs around the venues’.

Night Owl nightclub ‘We Got You’ poster.

Licensed premises and the teams that work in them have both legal and moral responsibility for their guests. It Is their legal responsibility to protect public safety and to prevent crime and disorder.

The safety initiative ‘Ask for Angela’ is being rolled out to bars, clubs and other licensed businesses across the country. People who feel unsafe, vulnerable or threatened can discreetly seek help by approaching venue staff and asking them for ‘Angela’.

This code-phrase will indicate to staff that they require help with their situation and a trained member of staff will then look to support and assist them. This might be through reuniting them with a friend, seeing them in a taxi, or by calling venue security and/or the police.

Arith Liyanage:

“A lot of venues say they’re taking it seriously, but I think actions speak louder than words. Hence, we are successfully introducing measures to all Night Owl venues”

Ask for Clive is a charity that partners with venues to promote inclusion and to create welcoming environments for the LGBT+ community. Working directly with local communities and venues, and collaborating with law enforcement on training and reporting initiatives.

Venues put the Ask for Clive sticker on their door to let people know that ‘Everyone is Welcome Here’ and that discrimination will not be tolerated. Ask for Clive provide a briefing pack for venues to use to train staff in the event that any form of discrimination or hate crime is observed or reported.

The measures are fully rolled out in Birmingham with London currently in the middle of the rollout with it set to be fully complete in early May.