A positive impact, a safer night out in Northamptonshire
From 2022 to 2024, Shout-Up! operated in Northamptonshire, delivered by Northamptonshire Rape Crisis and funded by the OFFICE OF THE Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.
The initiative aimed to upskill those working in the night-time economy to identify sexual harassment and intervene safely. Over the course of the initiative, more than 70 people were trained across seven venues, with venues including The Lab, The Garibaldi Hotel, Lamplighter, and The Picturedrome receiving a two-year Shout-Up! certification.
The Picturedrome, which trained 16 staff members, expressed their commitment to the programme at the time: “We are thrilled to have been asked to be one of the first venues to take part in the Shout Up! programme. We have a zero-tolerance policy of sexual harassment of any kind in our venues and are proud to be able to celebrate that by working with Shout Up! to get our staff the appropriate certification as a result of their training.”
Kirsty Wilkins (third from left) and the team at The Lab, Northamptonshire
Kirsty Wilkins, chair at The Lab, shared her thoughts on the training: “We were very excited about becoming a Shout-Up! Venue. We found the training and support from Northamptonshire Rape Crisis very reassuring. Keeping our community safe was of utmost importance to us, and so anything we could do to improve was taken on board and implemented. It was also a great opportunity to form a stronger network with other venues in the area.”
The certification of these venues, which came just as Northamptonshire welcomed around 12,000 students to the University of Northampton, marked a significant milestone in Northamptonshire’s commitment to safer night-time spaces. The participating venues included:
NB's (Cocktail Bar and Club)
The Picturedrome
The Lab
The Garibaldi Hotel
Lamplighter
The Spread Eagle
The Artizan
The Black Prince
Olde England
Stephen Mold, Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner from 2016 to 2024, reflected on the programme’s impact: “I was very pleased to work in partnership with Northamptonshire Rape Crisis to bring Shout-Up! to Northamptonshire as part of our strategy to make women and girls safer and create a vibrant night-time economy for everyone. The Shout-Up! training was all about empowering people who work in venues to call out inappropriate behaviour and put people on the right path. Staff who took part told me it gave them the confidence to challenge those behaviours.”
The Picturedrome, Northamptonshire
The team from Northamptonshire Rape Crisis, Stephen Mold the Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner at the time and the team leaders from The Picturedrome in 2023.
The Shout-Up! certification, which lasts for two years and includes six-monthly assessments, also requires venues to:
Have all staff complete Bystander Intervention Training delivered by local experts Northamptonshire Rape Crisis
Write and share sexual harassment policies protecting staff and patrons
Implement a publicly available procedure for dealing with incidents of sexual harassment
Display visible signage explaining their participation in the scheme
Commit to making their venue a sexual harassment-free zone
Undertake six-monthly reviews on policies, procedures and training to retain certification
As the first area outside the North East to adopt the Shout-Up! programme, Northamptonshire’s participation demonstrated a clear commitment to creating safer night-time venues and set a positive example for other regions to follow.
Shout-Up! is proud to have worked with these dedicated venues and individuals, and we remain committed to continuing our work in communities across the UK.
If you're a venue owner or manager interested in learning more about Shout-Up! training and certification, get in touch with us today to join the growing number of businesses committed to preventing sexual harassment and ensuring a safer night out for everyone.
