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Guernsey is joining a nationwide movement boycotting bars and nightclubs to raise awareness of harassment and other risks which can face girls and women on nights out.
The Girls' Night In Gsy campaign has been launched on Instagram. It encourages islanders - not just women - to boycott venues in Town on Friday 19 November in support of people who have their nights out blighted by unacceptable behaviour of others.
The organisers of the campaign in Guernsey wish to remain anonymous as a way of emphasising the need for everyone who has experienced harassment to have a voice. However, they told Express that seeing media coverage of the same campaign in the UK inspired them to take action in the island.
“This is a problem locally and the outpouring of support for the boycott is testament to that," they said.
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Pictured: The Girls' Night In campaign was originally launched by students in Edinburgh. The campaign gained momentum on social media and women in cities across the UK organised boycotts of their local establishments last week.
The plan for 19 November is for women – and any men who wish to support the movement – to boycott Town venues to raise awareness and ask businesses to train staff to look out for risks to their customers and clearly inform women where they can go for support if they experience spiking, harassment or assault in their venues.
Organisers acknowledge that some supporters of the campaign will already have made bookings to go out to a venue on 19 November. “No one will be shamed or judged if they decide to go to Town," they said.
They hope that individuals who cannot adjust plans to be in Town on 19 November but who still wish to support the movement will share Instagram posts of the campaign and contact local establishments to ask them to put up sign-posting and train staff.
The organisers behind the campaign said that spiking, harassment and assault occur in Guernsey and cannot be ignored. “97% of women will be the victim of sexual assault in their lifetime and women in Guernsey are no exception to this,” they said.
“These crimes are a part of everyday life for women, to the extent that we simply accept and expect it on nights out.”
It is hoped that the campaign will also prompt more conversations about the prevalence of these crimes locally.
“We want all local venues - not just in Town - to organise staff training on recognising and handling these incidents when they occur. We want victims to know they are not alone.”
Pictured below: The Instagram account @girlsnightingsy gained 550 followers and 850 likes in less than 24 hours with girls as young as 15 sharing their stories of harassment in Guernsey.
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