The safety of women and girls in Sheffield’s night time economy is being brought to the forefront as a new charter is released. The aim is to make employers, venues and businesses more accountable for women’s safety by making it a top priority in their spaces.
It outlines ‘Seven Commitments’ including designating a champion in each venue to ‘drive cultural change around safety in your organisation’. Another commitment reminds venues to remember the 3R’s – responsibility, report and response. Overall, the charter hammers home internal procedures venues can implement.
Joe Otten, Sheffield Councillor and Chair of the Environmental Services and Regulation Policy Committee, said: “For any organisation signing this charter is a promise to every woman and girl who walks through your door that her safety and dignity matter.
“When venues stand together on this, we send a powerful message that Sheffield is a city that cares.”
Data highlights that women are feeling at risk amongst the night-time economy more often than not, with 2024 statistics showing that women were more likely then men to experience stalking, domestic abuse and sexual assault. Asking Sheffield women, they echoed the sentiment stating that for women there have to be a thousand more mental steps on a night out to ensure their safety than there are for men.
Lissa Mel was in one of her favourite Sheffield venues when a man targeted her using a distraction to spike her drink. When she told security she simply received a shrug of the shoulders and was forced to move on with no support.
Annabel Seenor, 32, said: “There’s always a moment for a woman when you think ‘is that okay?’ And then you think ‘who am I with? Am I safe? Where’s my phone? Where’s my purse?’ That’s always a consideration.”
Sheffield women have reacted positively to the charter, suggesting it is an obvious step in the right direction and many have stated that a venue signing up would make them more likely to chose that spot.
However, there are still concerns. For example, why is signing up not compulsory for venues and what is there to ensure that measurements will be properly policed when implemented?
Sheffield Women’s Collective is a grassroots organisation focusing on collaborative action, fundraising and local activism. They work to raise awareness of violence against women.
Co-founder of the organisation, Amber Millar, expressed that the organisation welcomes additional training through venues in Sheffield as it has been reported to them that staff often have little to no knowledge on common initiative such as Ask for Angela.
She acknowledged steps taken in the charter, such as the intersectional issues for disabled women, women of colour and unhoused women, as well as including trans and non-binary people in the conversation.
However, it was not without shortcomings. For example, although the charter refers to violence against women and girls it does not mention men’s violence against women and girls.
Ms Millar said: “Whilst the document is practically useful for businesses and employers, it falls short of discussing the issue of men’s violence, and their responsibility in creating a safe city for women, in any meaningful way.”
For the council, the charter coincides with the work they have done around the White Ribbon campaign, which encouraged men to hold themselves accountable to women and each other by wearing a white ribbon symbolising a promise never to commit, excuse or remain silent about male violence against women and girls.
At the time SheffieldWire published this article, no night time venues had signed up to the charter, according to Sheffield City Council. They believe this is because it has been a recent development, only having been approved on February 6, and they are working on publicity as well as sending it to both licensed and non-licensed venues in upcoming weeks.
However some Sheffield venues are still taking clear steps to consider women’s safety. The Foundry enlists a night Welfare team, consisting of bar staff who have been specifically trained to provide with essential support. They also have the Safety Minibus, and their partnerships with Veezu Safe Rides and the Where You At? app, to ensure that women can travel home safely.
Photo: Foundry Welfare Team Source: Foundry Website
SheffieldWire asked women if they felt safe in Sheffield of a night. Nikki Manku, 21, said: “It completely depends where I am and what night out I am going on, for example if I was to go to Foundry I feel a lot safer because I know they have stuff in place, like the Safety Bus. But I can’t say I do feel safe going to places like West Street.”
Women and girls are constantly changing their behaviour every night to avoid risk predominantly from men. The Girlguiding 2025 Girls’ Attitudes Survey showed that 68% of girls aged 11-21 have changed their behaviour to avoid sexual harassment.
This charter suggests a positive move in the right direction, making women’s safety everyone’s responsibility. Women across the city now wait and hope that this charter makes the change they need rather than becoming a surface level promise.
To sign up and find out which venues have contact safetycharter@sheffield.gov.uk
