Staff at Midlands venues trained to tackle sexual harassment in time for festive season

The training is part of the first wave of Safer Dance which aims to ensure nightclubs are safer than ever before. 

The live music and NTE professionals drawn were joined by university students and staff, media, funding and policy professionals, and the Mayor of the West Midlands over two half days of intensive training. 

The Actress & Bishop, Digbeth Dining Club, Hockley Social Club, Nortons Digbeth, The Rainbow Pub and The Tin Music and Arts were amongst venues on-boarded during the training sessions, enabling them to put policies and actions in place at their venues. 

Expert trainers and speakers Michelle Diaz (RSVP) and Frances Barber Shillito (No Words Needed Management) joined Safer Dance co-founders Sam Hennerley and Jack Young to deliver the sessions, which also featured a screening of a new short film When The Music Ends, produced by Birmingham-born global artist DJ Rebekah and Beatport. 

The programme was designed to coincide with the arrival of new ‘Duty To Prevent’ legislation under the Worker Protection Act 2023 which requires all employers to proactively prevent sexual harassment in the workplace from October 2024. 

Safer Dance was developed by co-founders Sam Hennerley and Jack Young in 2019 to address concerns around the safety in music and NTE venues by providing an audit model, range of resources and framework for upskilling employers and employees. 

Their training rollout complements work by West Midlands Combined Authority to embed a Women’s Night Safety Charter across the region, and encourage industry to engage with harm reduction measures  for staff, customers and sub-contractors. Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “Everyone deserves to feel safe on a night out, so staff and fellow partygoers need to know how to spot the signs of sexual harassment and take action when needed."