Local bars and restaurants are to begin implementing a sexual assault prevention training, Safe Bar, to uphold the safety of the community and to change the culture surrounding sexual assault.
“The more education we can provide on that and change the culture and the way we view sexual assault: it is not your fault, it is never your fault, the more likely it is that people will come forward, will seek prosecution, will seek medical treatment and not have to carry that burden alone for the rest of their lives,” said Lenee Hendrix, Sexual Assault Response Team Coordinator for the Branch House Family Justice Center in Sullivan County.
Branch House is committed to trauma-informed care for victims of domestic and sexual violence. They support victims by providing free services like housing, legal assistance, counseling services, medical services and advocates who remain with victims every step of the process. Branch House has taken their assistance even further by working with Safe Bar to prevent sexual assault from occurring.
“The goal of the Safe Bar is to really equip our bar staff and our bar owners and our restaurant staff with the tools to understanding bystander intervention and the role that alcohol plays in sexual assaults and how to safely intervene,” Brittany Fleenor said, Coordinated Community Response Specialist for Branch House.
Branch House staff and partners were trained by Safe Bar and then created their own curriculum to distribute to local bars and restaurants. Virtual training was also developed to make it easier for establishments to implement and maintain training.
Safe Bar training includes effective bystander intervention and education on sexual assault. As alcohol plays a staggering role in sexual assault, this training is imperative to combatting sexual assault. These tips and tricks will empower employees to act if they see a potentially harmful situation, rather than necessitating fellow patrons stepping in and potentially escalating the situation.
“A lot of the research that’s been performed is more often than not, it’s patrons who end up intervening, but because they’re also intoxicated it doesn’t help the situation, it creates additional violence that then puts other patrons at risk,” said Hendrix.
Branch House also partnered with the Assistant District Attorney of Sullivan County and an officer with the Bristol Police Department to offer their knowledge on the legal aspects of sexual assault and how to best respond to these situations.
Once restaurants and bars complete the Safe Bar training, they will receive a window sticker (that signifies the establishment as Safe Bar certified) and coasters that can detect the presence of date rape drugs.
High Voltage and Kingsport Axe House have completed the training. Watauga Brewing Company in Johnson City is set to begin Safe Bar training in September.
“As a bar owner, I want people to drink responsibly, and that’s just not a phrase to me,” Mina McVeigh with Watauga Brewing Company said. “That means enjoying what you’re drinking, enjoying what you’re eating, but doing it in a safe way.”
Watauga Brewing Company highly values the safety of its patrons and employees and upon hearing of Safe Bar immediately wanted to implement it. Watauga Brewing Company works toward creating a healthy and positive atmosphere and believes that bars do not have to be places where bad things happen.
McVeigh said this training is just the first step in the process of preventing sexual assault.
“That’s the problem in this area: we don’t talk about sexual assault,” said McVeigh.
Training and education on sexual assault are instrumental to reducing sexual assault rates, especially in this area. Without awareness and cultural change, victims do not feel comfortable coming forward and the root problems of sexual assault are never addressed.
“You cannot pretend it doesn’t exist here; in fact, it exists at an alarming level here,” Hendrix said. “You can’t fix something if people refuse to address it.”
