How a new awareness campaign aims to make it safer to have a night out in Toronto

CBC

a day ago

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A new campaign is aiming to make Toronto nightlife safer.
Sip Safe is an awareness campaign created to address drink tampering, sexual assault, and harassment.
The campaign's founder says she wants to ensure that every nightlife venue in Toronto is equipped with the resources and tools to keep patrons and staff safe.
"We're trying to teach them about how to watch out for themselves and for the others," said Polly Leung. "From bystander training, consent training, to understanding what it can look or feel like if someone has been drugged and the next steps to [help]."
According to Statistics Canada, one in three women feel uncomfortable or unsafe in public because of another person's behaviour, and women living in the core of larger cities are more likely to experience unwanted behaviours in public.
On Monday, five Toronto bars will mark the official launch of Sip Safe. The staff from these bars will come together at the cocktail bar No Vacancy for a workshop about nightlife safety.
No Vacancy's manager says he is glad issues like drink tampering are being addressed.
"It's something that anyone who's worked in this industry has seen happen," said Troy Gilchrist.
"I wish we never had to have a conversation about it, but it's something that, as we evolve our levels of hospitality and the quality of our service, is something that is really important for us to be focused on."
Taking the onus off potential victims
Besides the workshop, Sip Safe will also provide safety tools and resources, including drink covers, custom signage, and information that can be displayed on menus about what people can do if they don't feel safe.
Deepa Mattoo, the executive director at Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic, which provides counselling and resources to women and gender-diverse survivors of violence, says she applauds the campaign.
"To raise awareness about the issue is really, really welcomed by us because it's an issue that we see in our practice quite frequently," said Mattoo
"People who feel scared about what happens to them in these spaces get traumatized for the rest of their lives. These are life-altering circumstances and experiences."
The campaign is also aiming to remove the onus from potential victims to prevent drink-tampering and harassment themselves, by instead addressing systemic issues that allow these acts of violence to occur.
That's an important shift, says Carly Kalishni, the chief executive officer of Victim Services Toronto.
"What I love about the Sip Safe campaign is that the onus is removed from the survivor. It shouldn't be women's jobs to constantly be on edge about the nightmare that could happen to them," she said, saying she wants to encourage more bars and restaurants to take part in the program.
"It should be people's jobs not to do this, and also for the professionals in bars and nightclubs, and restaurants to look out for this."
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Sasha Santos, an anti-violence activist, said a new stir stick that changes colours if it detects drugs in a drink could act like a "seatbelt" for those wanting a safer experience on a night out. Johan Foster, a University of B.C. associate professor who helped develop the Spikeless product, said their goal was to make a product that was cheap and versatile.
Kalishni also wants to remind the public that there are resources available for victims of drink tampering or sexual assault.
"Victim Services Toronto operates 24 hours a day for any person who self-identifies as a victim or survivor of crime, regardless of whether or not they choose to report to police, so please call us and and seek support if you need it and also know if this has happened to you, you are not alone and we believe you," said Kalishni.
She says drink tampering cases are more common among people under the age of 25 and often take place on university and college campuses.