A NIGHTCLUB has banned staring without getting “verbal consent” – and hired “safety officers” in pink vests to police revellers.
The venue also asked clubbers not to turn up if their “sole purpose” for their night out is the meet someone to “pick up”.
Club 77 in Sydney said managers will call the cops if clubbers stare at others without getting their consent.
And in an Instagram post, the club said “safety officers” in pink vests would enforce the new staring rules.
Club 77 said it wanted to be a “safe space” and updated its rules as it had recently “attracted some people who do not share our values and ethics when it comes to club culture”.
It said: “Creating a safe space goes beyond implementing practices to deal with incidents after they have happened.
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“We also have an obligation to educate new club-goers and help them understand what is considered unacceptable behaviour inside the venue and on the dance floor.”
The fresh policy states that “Club 77 is not a place to come to if your sole purpose is to ‘pick up'”.
It added: “If you do come in and are approaching multiple people or giving unwanted attention to someone, you are going to attract the attention of our security, who have been instructed to stop this kind of behaviour.”
The club said it was happy people to “interact with strangers” but “any engagement MUST begin with verbal consent”, Daily Telegraph reports.
Staring was highlighted as one form of harassment in the club’s new safety and harassment policy.
The venue suggested clubbers could be booted out if they simply glanced at another person and they took offence – and the cops could be called.
“If you are, for example, staring at someone from afar – if the attention you are giving someone is unwanted, that is considered harassment,” the club said.
“If you’re being harassed by another person or receiving unwanted attention, please seek them out or tell our staff immediately.
“We adopt a policy of ‘always believe the report’ in cases of harassment and feeling unsafe.
“If we receive reports of any behaviour that has made someone feel uncomfortable, the reported individual will be removed from the venue and the police will be called.”
Club co-owner Dan Gorrel confirmed no one had been kicked out of the club for staring yet – but wanted to set out the ground rules.
“Someone could stare at someone and make them feel uncomfortable, they could be staring at them for quite some time,” he said.
“People want to go out, they want to feel safe, they don’t want people chasing after them, the response to it has been extremely positive.”
Social media users jumped to support the new policy.
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One said: “Amazing!!! Positive party culture all the way!”
Another wrote: “Backing this 100 per cent.”
