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COMPTOIR Libanais is one of 165 venues that signed up to Exeter’s Safety of Women at Night Charter last year.
The Charter was developed as part of the city’s commitment to making the city a safe place, where women feel confident and safe at night.
It means there is a network of pubs, restaurants, bars, night clubs, hotels, taxi firms, cinemas, gyms, supermarkets and shops that have all committed to a city-wide approach to reducing violence against women and girls and keeping them safe at night.
Of course, we all hope we never have to deal with a distressing incident where a person is being harassed or attacked.
But a recent incident at the
Guildhall’s Comptoir Libanais is a perfect example of how important it can be to provide such a safe haven.
Manger Niki Rojko was first to react when tempers flared between two customers at the Lebanese restaurant.
“The couple had come in to celebrate his birthday. We seated the at a table and they started to eat,” said Niki. “They had some drinks but towards the end of the meal they started to have an argument. It got quite aggressive, there were glasses breaking, and the man ended up leaving and taking the lady’s belongings so she was stranded without a phone, without her wallet, without anything.”
Turn to page 2.
EXETER Police are asking women and girls to show them city areas where they don’t feel safe in a new scheme called Walk and Talk.
The police message is - ‘if there’s somewhere you don’t feel safe, take us there and we’ll walk and talk about it.’ Women aged 18 or over, living or working in any the city, can Walk and Talk with a female officer to share thoughts on women’s safety, and help bring positive change.
If you have concerns about a place where you live or work, contact the police at walkandtalk@devonan dcornwall.pnn.police.uk
A female police officer will arrange to meet you at the location you have concerns about, then walk with you to hear more about it. The officer will listen to you and take note of your concerns so that, together with community partners, we can start tackling some of the issues.
*IMPORTANT - please do not use the walk and talk email address to report crime.
From page 1.
“They were not from Exeter, they were visiting and staying in a hotel so she had nothing at all with her. She tried to go after him and get her belongings back but couldn’t find him, so she returned to us and we made sure she was safe.”
At that point the local police became involved as they were concerned for the woman should she go back to the hotel and the man was there.
“We offered to get her a taxi but were able to contact the police and they took her back to the hotel and ensure her safety from that point,” said Niki.
“It was great to be able to offer some assistance. She was in a very stressful situation so to have somewhere safe to go and not be stranded is really nice.”
And Niki has advice for anyone else planning a night out.
“I urge people going out in the city to be aware of businesses that will help you out, seek out those that have signed the Charter so you know there are safe spaces in Exeter where you can go to and people will help you out.”
IT’S now one year since 160 committed to Exeter’s Safety of Women at Night Charter. This charter encourages venues to take practical steps to make Exeter safer at night for women and girls. It has been developed as part of the city's commitment to keeping it a safe place, where women feel confident at night.
The Charter was devised after many women told us in a survey how they can feel unsafe in the city.
Venues around the city are now making Exeter a safer place for women and anyone walking around the city will see many displaying a ‘We signed the charter’ sticker in their front windows.
Safer Exeter helps those who signed up to deliver on that commitment. We have already sent each a pack of A4 posters featuring our aware winning campaign posters and now offers an online Bystander
Intervention course which will help people develop skills to de-escalate conflict situations at work or within their social circles (more on page 3). “We’re building a strong network dedicated to making a positive change to women’s and girls’ experiences of Exeter at night,” said Safer Exeter chair Peter Scargill.
“It is just as important to us that venues see signing the charter as a positive way to attract people through their doors as it is for customers to see those venues as safe places to enjoy their nights out in the city.”
If you want to find out more about the charter you can do so here
https://exeter.gov.uk/clean-safe-city/ community-safety/safety-of-womenat-night-charter/about-the-swancharter/
Or if you want to sign up online you can do that here: https:// my.exeter.gov.uk/service/SWAN
Award winning: This hard hitting campaign can be dowloaded by businesses absolutely free
DID you know there is a sexual health clinic on Sidwell Street in Exeter?
The clinic offers a range of sexual health services, including free STI testing.
Rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) like Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea and Syphilis are rising in the south west.
If you’re having condom-less sex you increase your risk of infection.
THE most high profile of all Safer Exeter’s recent work came from its Bystander Intervention project and the supporting advertising campaign.
The aim of the bystander training was to give people the skills to identify and then deal with incidents of harassment.
The supporting campaign set out to change attitudes, particularly male attitudes, towards women.
The campaign featured 10 hardhitting posters which portrayed simple messages which ask people to think about how they act towards others - particularly women and girls.
The agency involved in producing the campaign, Exeter based Program, continues to win or be nominated for awards both locally and nationally - including winning the award for Best Purpose Driven Campaign at the national Independent Agency Awards in London and the CIPR Pride Gold award for the South of England for the Public Sector Campaign category.
We are now offering businesses and organisations the chance to download these posters for display in and around their premises.
We are also offering businesses and groups a free online Bystander Intervention course to help people develop skills to de-escalate conflict situations either at work or within their social circles. The course is absolutely free and takes about half an hour to complete.
“This is a great opportunity for businesses that have already signed the SWaN Charter to reaffirm their commitment to it or for new businesses to get on board and help us make the city safer,” said Safer Exeter chair Peter Scargill.
Download our award winning campaign posters here: https:// issuu.com/universityofexeter/docs/ saferexeter-a4_posters
Take our online Bystander Intervention course here: https:// morepositiveme.thinkific.com/ courses/swan-safety-of-women-atnight
But the best protection against STIs is to wear a condom.
All sexual health services are confidential and nonjudgemental. To find out more call 0300 303 3989, or see devonsexualhealth.n hs.uk
If you have been raped or sexually assaulted, help and advice is available from Devon Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs). SARCs offer medical, practical and emotional support. They have specially trained doctors, nurses and support workers to care for you.
Exeter SARC can be contacted via 0300 303 4626 or see sarchelp.co.uk
Raise the banner: Women were invited to a workshop where they created banners to carry at the Reclaim the Night march
OVER 300 people took to Exeter’s streets in November for the Reclaim the Night Walk and raise awareness of sexual violence and harassment experienced by women and girls on our streets and in public spaces.
The event was hosted by Devon Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Services as part of 16 Days of Action 2023 and organised by volunteers from Reclaim the Night Devon.
The aim was to reach out to all communities across Exeter and the towns and villages nearby, to raise awareness of sexual violence and offer support and information.
Those attending were encouraged to use their individual and collective voices about the issues that surround sexual violence and domestic abuse.
When asked ‘Why are you marching this evening?’ the overwhelming sentiment was of solidarity and support for all victims/survivors of sexual violence.
Some where there to support the family and friends of a local women who had been raped and murdered. Some where there because of their own experiences, or that of friends and family.
IN EARLY February
Exeter Police arrested a man who was suspected of a number of predatory offences.
Over a couple of weeks he had been reported for following women, asking for their names and for a kiss.
Due to the courage of the victims, rapid reporting to the police and excellent community intelligence, police analysts were able to build a profile of the likely offender, locations and time of offending.
Using this analysis, officers soon arrested the suspect.
At the event, two women approached a volunteer at the placard making workshop to say that they ‘felt anxious and scared’ about coming along and wanted to be reassured that it was a safe space for them.
They had previously had negative experiences in Exeter but wanted to come along on the march with us.
After the walk they both said that they felt ‘supported and empowered and was so glad that they had stayed.’
Another woman told us that she felt ‘so anxious and fearful’ before the event but at the gathering before the march started, she felt safe, understood and supported by everyone around her.
As well as raising awareness of the issues of sexual violence and abuse – the event raised awareness of Devon Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Services and other specialist support services that are available for people living in Devon.
The event was inclusive and open to all and encouraged people from all of our diverse communities to come together to raise awareness, have their voices heard and in a collective action to say No to street harassment and sexual violence.
Such an outcome shows the value of reporting and while police accept that reporting is challenging for some they ask that all such incidents are reported.
This arrest was made as part of the police’s Operation Vigilant, which sees both uniformed and plain clothes officers patrolling with the sole intent of spotting men acting in a predatorily fashion.
The operation was supported by CCTV operators, who are adept at spotting those who pose risk.
City council licensing officers also took part working with venues and taxi companies to spread the word about keeping women safe at night.