Eliminating sexual harassment is a priority for venues as Northampton welcomes new university students

A number of Northampton venues have joined a scheme to eliminate sexual harassment across the town, as new university students are welcomed.

The Shout-Up! Scheme aims to upskill those working in the county’s night time economy, so staff members can identify sexual harassment and intervene safely.

The Lab, The Garibaldi Hotel, and Lamplighter are the latest to have had all their staff complete bystander intervention training, enabling them to make situations safe – which has brought the number of Northampton venues with this certification to seven.

Kirsty Wilkins chair at The Lab said: “We are very excited about becoming a Shout-Up! Venue, as we have found the training and support 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.”

The Lab has also had the opportunity “to form a stronger network with other venues in the area” as a result of the training.

This comes as the University of Northampton welcomes around 12,000 students back to the town – and the 70 staff members across the seven venues in the scheme are leading the way in making it a safer environment for them to be part of.

The scheme is delivered by Northamptonshire Rape Crisis and funded by Stephen Mold, the Northamptonshire police, fire and crime commissioner.

Stephen said: “I am very pleased to be working in partnership with Northamptonshire Rape Crisis as part of our strategy to make women and girls safer, and create a vibrant night time economy for everyone.

“The training is all about empowering people who work in venues to call out inappropriate behaviour and put people on the right path.

“Staff have told me it has given them the confidence to challenge.”

Stephen visited The Lab and says it was “fantastic to see how they were using the training to keep customers and colleagues safe”.

Shout-Up! Certification, which lasts for two years with six-monthly assessments, also requires establishments to have a publicly available sexual harassment policy.

It first originated in Newcastle in 2017, and Northamptonshire was the first area outside the North-East to adopt it.