'People don't go out to have their bottoms pinched'

A woman who set up a scheme to help anyone feeling unsafe while on a night out has said "people don't go out to be harassed, to have their bottoms pinched" after a new night-time safety charter was introduced in Liverpool.

Iwona Kossek, co-director of the Ask for Angela community interest company, welcomed the charter, which has been designed by Liverpool City Council.

It contains a list of pledges for bars, clubs and late-night venues open between 18:00 GMT and 06:00.

The charter includes training and advice on how to help customers and staff report harassment and unacceptable behaviour.

Kossek said the training would help workers in the night-time economy challenge harassment and views such as "boys will be boys", or "it's fine - just deal with it".

The training includes how to record the right information if an incident is reported to them, and consider whether safety is built into the design of venues.

The charter promotes the Ask for Angela scheme which enables anyone feeling unsafe, threatened, or vulnerable to discreetly seek help.

Kossek said the idea behind the scheme was that people who did not feel safe in a venue could ask staff "for Angela" discreetly, as a signal that something was wrong.

She added that staff working in Liverpool's night-time economy had recently received training.

"Some of the stuff that we've been hearing from them has been absolutely amazing in terms of shifting the focus around what's not acceptable anymore."

She added: "People don't go out to be harassed, to have their bottoms pinched or any of that.

"What the training had done - and working with Liverpool Council and the police -just shows how, when the partnership works, it all comes together.

"It's putting venues on the map to say 'Look, we care about the customers that we have here and we're going to protect them and we're going to make sure that they have a great night out and we're going to intervene when somebody has crossed that line'."

The council said the charter was part of wider work building on Liverpool's Purple Flag accreditation on night-time safety, a status which the city has held for 16 years.

That scheme recognises the work of authorities in Liverpool to create safe and thriving places for people visiting pubs, bars, clubs and restaurants after dark.

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