I clicked through to the article about training bar staff to intervene to reduce the risk of rape, thinking, “No doubt it will all be all about telling women to stay safe.”
I was wrong.
Dr McGregor said staff … needed to be aware of the sexual risks for heavy drinkers.
“We are teaching bar staff how to keep patrons safe – identifying predatory males, and being aware of the consent laws,” she said.
“They don’t understand that it’s rape if you have sex with someone who is so stupefied by alcohol or drugs that they can’t give consent.
…
Programme co-ordinator Kylie Tippett said the workshops trained bar staff to watch out for “red flags” such as patrons being sexually harassed, being plied with double or triple drinks or drugs without their knowledge, simply getting drunk very quickly, or leaving the bar with no way to get to their next destination safely.
She said security staff could approach offenders and say, “We have noticed your inappropriate sexual behaviour towards women or men this evening. We don’t tolerate harassment on these premises – either stop or you’ll be asked to leave.”
There’s not a word of victim blaming in it. Perhaps that’s because the programme has been put together by police and ACC, in conjunction with Rape Prevention Education.
