As we all gather round and sing “Auld Lang Syne”, and the clock strikes midnight we must not forget the importance of staying safe. New Year’s Eve is one of the busiest nights of the year.
Credit: Visit London, fireworks in London.
It appears that women’s safety is often overlooked when it comes to the new year’s festivities. When researching safety on New Year’s Eve the most frequent advice that came up was about fireworks and avoiding drink driving. This is shocking given the cases of Sarah Everard, Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman. These cases were poorly handled by the police and highlight how women need more protection at night and require more advice on how to stay safe at night, especially after consuming alcohol.
We spoke to women about what they think should be done to make sure everyone stays safe on New Year’s Eve.
Evelyn Foy, a twenty-year-old, musical theatre student from Southampton discussed how important campaigns like ‘Ask for Angela;’ are providing a discreet way for people who are in a bar, nightclub, or other licensed business to ask for safety.
This campaign works by asking a member of staff for Angela, signalling that you need protection from harm. Foy continued by saying that these kinds of campaigns are vital for protecting women from danger. There has been a lot of discussion about ‘Ask for Angela’ on social media. This means that potentially, the people who inflict harm could become aware of the true meaning of ‘ask for Angela’ undermining the purpose of the campaign.
Charlotte Toole, nineteen from London highlighted the importance of consent on a night out, specifically, when alcohol is involved. “I've found people use the excuse of New Years to kiss people without consent.” Stated Toole. This form of assault could often go unreported because it is a tradition in the United Kingdom to share a kiss with your partner when the clock strikes twelve. The behaviour of kissing a stranger on New Year’s Eve is normalised within our society, therefore resulting in people thinking that these actions are acceptable. All the women interviewed unanimously agreed that this kind of behaviour should be spoken about more.
According to a survey by the Office for National Statistics based on perceptions of personal safety in June 2021, they found that 1 in 2 women felt unsafe walking alone at night near their homes. This further explains how when being in a familiar environment woman still feel vulnerable and in danger. Foy expressed her views on this topic by explaining how there should be accessible safe spaces for women when they feel at risk of danger. As everyone heads home after the New Year’s Eve festivities, women could be even more vulnerable to harm and assault because of the copious amounts of people out in the early hours.
The survey also mentions how three out of five women aged between 16 to 34 years have experienced at least one form of harassment in the last year. This is heart wrenching and suggests that local councils across the country should have more conversations with the women of their constituencies and do more to accommodate their experiences.
For most people New Year’s Eve is an excuse to drink rather a lot of alcohol whether this be raising a toast whilst welcoming in the new year or by consuming one too many tequila shots with friends in the middle of a bustling, high energy night club. Adriana Thompson, twenty from Dorset explained how drink spiking is a big fear of hers on a typical night out but on New Year’s Eve this fear is heightened and in the fore front of her mind. According to research by YouGov 1 in 9 women said that they had been a victim of a spiking attack.
Thompson continued by highlighting how there are products that you can purchase or request when you are at a bar that can help reduce the risk of being spiked.
The popular nightclub chain, Przym offers anti-spike drink stoppers. This kind of invention could quite literally be the difference between life and death. These kinds of products could be incredibly important on New Year’s Eve.
There are some establishments like Pop World, another popular night club chain that can be found across the United Kingdom that allows its visitors to bring their own water bottle to use when buying drinks. This is to reduce the risk of spiking as much as possible.
When asked about education related to women’s safety, Thompson expressed how she would “always see videos and products aimed at woman and what they should be doing to stay safe, but the education should also be aimed at those who are causing the trouble.” This is a viewpoint commonly shared by women and how it is often perceived that women are to blame for terrible things happening to them when most of the time it is out of their control. This is especially relevant to women when out on New Year’s Eve.
Perhaps a new years resolution for us all should be to pay more attention to women’s safety.
Topics
New Year's Eve/ Women/ crime
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