Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
placeholder article
placeholder article

We Want a Safe Bar

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Elise Pawlak
Her Campus Placeholder Avatar MNSU Contributor
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at MNSU chapter.

 

 

I want to be able to walk onto the bar scene without fear.

Fear of being violated and harassed.

Fear of strangers thinking they have a right to my body.

Fear of unknown eyes assessing my attire as an invitation to breach my personal boundaries.

Fear of the dance floor where invasive hands tend to appear from behind and force my body against theirs.

 

These fears are not a product of my imagination, but from my experiences and also those of others that have shared their stories.

I have these fears for myself, but also for every person that spends a night on the town at the bars.

I’m afraid of the likelihood that they will experience instances of sexual harassment or assault, because they might not end up in a safe bar.

 
 

We Want a Safe Bar— We NEED a Safe Bar.

We need our bars to be a part of the Safe Bar Initiative.

The Safe Bar Initiative (SBI) is a primary prevention effort to help reduce sexual harassment and violence in local bars by training the staff in these establishments on bystander intervention free of charge. SBI will also hold a media campaign, I Want a Safe Bar, making it clear that harassment and violence will not be tolerated.

Bystander Intervention: A prevention strategy to intervene when witnessing sexual assault, violence, bullying, intimate partner violence and other kinds of harassment and assault. Intervening appropriately on a situation can help to prevent a situation from escalating.  Want to know more? Visit the National Sexual Assault Resource Center site.

The SBI has many local sponsors including MSU, Mankato’s Violence Awareness and Response Program, MSU, Mankato’s Office of Affirmative Action, The Committee Against Domestic Abuse (CADA), Inc., Gustavus Adolphus College, The St. Peter Police Department, and Mankato Public Safety.

 

Which Bars Are Safe Bars?

There are currently two bars officially allied with SBI: Pub 500 (Mankato) & Patrick’s on 5th (St. Peter), but Bradley’s on Stadium and Jake’s Stadium Pizza are on their way to joining the cause!

So Why Aren’t There More Safe Bars?

“Few bars have responded to my invitations to learn about the Safe Bar Initiative. It is hard to determine why this is not feasible for establishments to do. Some of the possible obstacles that have been brought to my attention from active stakeholders of the SBI are: compensating employees for the trainings, and the lack of awareness that this is something that would benefit not only their establishment, but also the community as a whole. Bystander intervention can be applied to more than just sexual violence scenarios. It could be applied to bullying, domestic abuse, or convincing your friend to not buy those ugly shoes.” -Sabrina Trickel, Prevention Specialist at CADA, Inc.

 

Did I Say Free?

Yes, the training doesn’t cost the establishment a dime. They only have to pay their staff for their time. So what’s stopping our bars from becoming safe bars?

Want to know what you can do about it?

Let’s come together to make these changes in our community.

Make your voice heard.

 

 

Join the Cause and Get Involved

Do you want to make the bar scene a safer place?

Help us spread our message and tell your favorite establishments that you want a safe bar!

There are three events dedicated to raising awareness of sexual assault and promoting the SBI.

 

Why Do You Want a Safe Bar?

Share your story and join the I Want a Safe Bar media campaign. Stop by the CADA table when you see Sabrina (pictured below on the right) and her team in SBI interns in the Myers Field House & CSU Mav Ave. If you can’t catch them on campus you can share why you want a safe bar by emailing IWantASafeBar@gmail.com! We will anonymously be posting stories/reasons/motivation for why a safe bar is important to you!

 

Give This To Your Server or Bartender

(Print a few cards and keep them on you when you go out)

Next time you’re grabbing the tab for your drinks or dinner, leave this card with your payment (don’t forget the tip!) in order to raise awareness about the Safe Bar Initiative and give the establishment direct resource to become a safe bar.

Get Bystander Intervention Certified

Are you in charge of an establishment, part of a campus organization, or you’re just a student that wants to be able to stand up for others. CADA is providing you with free bystander intervention training.

Her Campus MNSU is proud to announce that our chapter will become Bystander Intervention Certified after spring break!

 

Contact CADA’s Prevention Specialist

 

The Committee Against Domestic Abuse, Inc. (CADA) is a non-profit victim’s advocacy and emergency shelter organization based in Mankato, Minnesota. It has been engaged in its mission to provide shelter, advocacy, and education services for 35 years. The shelter program provides emergency housing to female survivors of domestic and sexual violence and their children. Twenty-four hour advocacy and supportive services are provided in the shelter as well as through community-based victim service programs serving Blue Earth, Nicollet, Brown, Waseca, Watonwan, Faribault, Le Sueur and Sibley counties located in South-Central Minnesota. CADA also houses a supervised parenting time program where children are able to visit their non-custodial parents in a safe, neutral environment.

Crisis Line 1-800-477-0466, 24 Hours (507) 625-3966, Shelter (507) 625-3966, Business (507) 625-8688

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar
Elise Pawlak is a double major in Creative Writing and Mass Media with double minor in Gender Women’s Studies and Nonprofit Leadership at Minnesota State University, Mankato. She is constantly running around campus with being the President of Society of Professional Journalists, Treasurer of Public Relations Student Society of America, Treasurer of Gender Women’s Studies club, the Communications chair for the Women of Action Committee, and the Public Relations intern for the MNSU Women’s Center. When she does have a free moment it is spent rewatching Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes and connecting with her spirit animal: The Bloody Mary. After she graduates in May of 2016 she plans to pursue a career in the world of writing… hopefully landing a job that will help her pay off her student loans before she starts collecting social security.
Her Campus Placeholder Avatar