Safebars

As part of the commitment to good service, bars, restaurants, breweries, and clubs can build customer satisfaction and loyalty through improved safety. Bars where staff are treated with respect also have higher-functioning teams and lower turnover.

Safe Bars trains staff at bars, restaurants, breweries, and clubs in Horry & Georgetown Counties to recognize and respond to sexual harassment and assault among patrons and staff.

Safe Bars Works To:

● Increase staff understanding of the scope and causes of unwanted sexual

  aggression;

● Increase staff recognition of inappropriate behavior along the continuum of sexual  

  and relationship violence;

● Provide staff with the skills to respond to such behavior safely and appropriately,           

whether by stepping up or when asked for their help;

● Actively promote establishments that adopt safety standards.

 
Why Bars?
About half of all sexual assaults involve alcohol. Unwanted sexual attention, including verbal harassment and touching, occurs frequently in bars, restaurants, and clubs. We know that alcohol doesn’t cause sexual assault, but it is used as a weapon to incapacitate targets and as camouflage to excuse aggressor behavior. Bars, restaurants, breweries, and clubs also have some of the highest rates of workplace sexual harassment of any industry in the U.S., harming workers and their workplaces alike.

Why Bystanders? Bystander intervention is key to preventing sexual violence. Bar owners, managers, security personnel, and other staff are in a unique position to observe and intervene to prevent sexual assault by creating a safe space for patrons and staff alike.

Bystander intervention training programs show increases in both responsive and proactive bystander behaviors.

Safe Bars empowers bystanders with skills to:

● Identify high-risk behaviors of aggressors;

● Intervene either proactively or responsively; and

● Overcome barriers to taking action.

What’s in it for you?

Bars, restaurants, breweries, and clubs trained by Safe Bars reap many benefits:

● They demonstrate to their customers their commitment to providing a

safe and welcoming environment.

● They demonstrate to their staff (and potential staff) that they value their

safety, comfort, and respect in the workplace.

● Their staff have a greater range of strategies to use in addressing

unwanted sexual aggression.

● Customers who have positive experiences are more likely to return and to

tell their friends.

● Staff are happier and less likely to leave.

● Safe Bars actively promotes bars that have gone through the training.

● Safe Bars-trained bars receive a window decal for display.

● It’s the right thing to do!

Ready to join us?
If you work at a bar, restaurant, brewery, or other food & beverage establishment in Horry or Georgetown Counties and you’d like to become a Safe Bar, we’d be happy to come and work with your staff. 

Contact Sharon Jackson Beaty by emailing sharon@victimtosurvivor.org or calling 843-448-3180 to discuss details.