Opinion: The Girls Night In movement can do more

Girls Night In must go further to invoke real change in order to protect young women at risk of being spiked.

Amid a rapid and alarming prevalence of cases of young women being spiked by injection in nightclubs and bars across the country, people have taken to social media in order to enact change. A petition, that has now surpassed 100,000 signatures, meaning it will be brought before Parliament, calls for all nightclubs to have to “thoroughly search” all customers before entering their establishments. A more than reasonable demand, this is, undoubtedly, a step in the right direction.

Up and down the country, the Girls Night In movement has become prevalent on social media. With various spin-offs occurring in Nottingham, London, Norwich and likely more, this movement aims to boycott nightclubs in order to send a ‘message’, that, rightly, young women will not tolerate the risk of being spiked, not least by injection, which could have various additional health implications if dirty needles are used – which is more than likely.

Whilst the sentiment is there, and too, the potential to invoke a real change in the attitudes of nightclub and bar owners, and even the Government if they legislate, Girls Night In does not go far enough, when it has the opportunity to.

In order to make a real change, young men must support this movement too. Whilst it is young women who are most at risk of being spiked, the action of young women alone deciding to participate in this boycott protest will not be enough to make nightclub owners more likely to make changes to ensure the safety of their female customers. Furthermore, a single night boycott, not least the odd decision to hold it on a Wednesday, is futile and in vain.

For this protest to work, if the end goal is to incite change in the approach that nightclubs and bars take to women’s safety, these boycotts, or ‘Girls Nights In’, must be consistent – and on days more likely to have an impact. If not every day for two weeks, for example, every Friday and Saturday should these boycotts take place – especially if the goal is to cause financial instability for nightlife in cities like Nottingham or London in order to make owners more likely to listen. Otherwise, this movement will have little to no impact and certainly will not succeed.

The demands of the Girls Night In Nottingham Instagram page are as follows: “We are asking clubs and bars to increase their entry security. We are asking clubs and bars to provide free drink protection devices (drink divers etc.). We are asking clubs and bars to provide a clear and obvious medical centre and a safe way to get home.” In the same post, the page also affirms that this is “not a stay at home message” and that bars and clubs are “not responding to our complaints, so we must make them”.

All fair demands, in order to succeed in this mission the Girls Night In movement must do more if they want to be heard, and make real change. If not, their efforts will be in vain.

Lead image: Rucsandra Moldoveanu