Why asking for ‘Angela’ in a bar could save someone from sexual abuse
A campaign in a county in England aims to combat sexual violence and abuse with a simple but effective method.
The ‘Ask for Angela’ campaign appears in restrooms in Lincolnshire county.
It encourages someone who feels unsafe in any situation to approach bar staff and ask for ‘Angela’.
This alerts the staff to the fact that something is going wrong and they are then able to help that person leave the bar discreetly.
Someone posted an image of the poster to Twitter.
It reads: “Are you on a date that isn’t working out? Is your Tinder or POF [Plenty of Fish] date not who they said they were on their profile? Do you feel like you’re not in a safe situation? Does it all feel a bit weird? If you go to the bar and ask for ‘Angela,’ the bar staff will know you need help getting out of your situation and will call you a taxi or help you out discreetly—without too much fuss.”
The campaign hopes to remove the fear sometimes faced by people in difficult situations of being wrong, or there being a scene.
Speaking to the Independent, Hayley Child, a substance misuse and sexual violence and abuse strategy coordinator at Lincolnshire County Council says: “The ‘Ask for Angela’ posters are part of our wider #NoMore campaign which aims to promote a culture change in relation to sexual violence and abuse, promote services in Lincolnshire and empower victims to make a decision on whether to report incidents.”
She continues: “Sexual abuse and violence is an national issue, and all councils have a responsibility to tackle abuse. This was Lincolnshire Community Safety Partnership’s first awareness raising campaign on this issue.”
