Reports of sexual harassment are being dismissed by staff at city nightclubs, claims councillor

Councillor Richard Udall said he has been made aware of several women who are being harassed both verbally and physically, though venue staff are allegedly taking little to no action.

The county and city councillor for St John’s believes the city licensing committee needs to “examine ways to make our nightclubs safer” – including retraining staff around dealing with harassment allegations.

“From what I am hearing they have approached staff and are often being dismissed and not taken seriously,” Cllr Udall told the Worcester News.

“I want to make sure all establishments and staff involved know what they can do to ensure that they act appropriately.”

The councillor said complainants are frequently getting touched inappropriately or are subject to unwelcome lewd remarks, but staff respond with “anger” or “they are told to keep away” from the culprits.

Before agreeing to give a venue a licence, the city council’s licensing committee agrees conditions with the operator to ensure, among other things, customers are kept safe.

The venue’s ability to meet these requirements is then monitored regularly.

“I think that as a local authority we need to be aware of a potential increase in sexual harassment taking place in some nightclubs,” continued Cllr Udall.

He said staff “need to be more aware of the situation and the signals” to ensure “nightspots are safe for everyone” and he said the council needs not be afraid to “step in”.

“I am not saying that the clubs are failing, necessarily, but I am constantly hearing students say such and such has happened.”

Cllr Udall, being based in St John’s where a lot of University of Worcester students live, said he doesn’t want to be “killjoy” and the students he knows “enjoy their nights in Worcester” but “more decisive things need to happen”.

He said he does not believe that any complainants he is aware of have reported such incidents to the police but instead “they go to other [venues], they speak with their feet.”

A city council spokesman said: “We take the safety of young people in night clubs very seriously. Sexual harassment should always be reported to the police by calling 999 or 101.

“Working together with the police, the city council offers safeguarding training to nightclub staff so that they know how to spot signs of exploitation and harassment and can act appropriately."

Chief Inspector Sean Kent said: “Our officers take all reports of sexual offences extremely seriously and will investigate all reports thoroughly.

“I would encourage all victims to report offences to the police, if you have been a victim you will be believed and listened too. We have trained officers that will treat you with care and sensitivity and guide you through the process.

“If you have been the victim of a sexual offence please ring 101 to make a report, if a crime is in progress please call 999.”

A University of Worcester spokesman said: “Sexual harassment or abuse of any kind is never acceptable.

"The University of Worcester has been a leader for many years in tackling this issue on a national and international scale, through education, research and practical action.

"The University has been running a very successful Bystander Intervention Programme for the last two years, which has been helping students to develop their knowledge, skills and understanding around their response to gender-based violence, giving them greater confidence in terms of spotting unacceptable behaviour and to know their options for how to respond to it.

"The University and the Students’ Union also work in partnership to run a number of campaigns encouraging students to think about their own, and others’, personal safety throughout the academic year.

"We would welcome any initiatives which help to promote a zero tolerance approach to abuse of any kind and would always encourage students to report any incidents to police and to seek support from our specially trained staff should they need to.”