The two organisations are calling on young people to speak out against sexual harassment on social media by using #GropeFreeNights to help raise awareness of the issue with particular focus on this year’s Freshers' Week.
Ben Butler, marketing and communications director at Drinkaware, said: “We’re excited to be working with UNILAD. As the largest platform engaging 18 to 24-year-olds both male and female, no one understands young people better, what makes them tick and how best to reach them. Together we want to disrupt the normalisation of sexual harassment on nights out.”
Report
Three years ago, the alcohol education charity commissioned a report called Drunken Nights Out: motivations, norms and rituals in the night-time economy based on extensive research among 18 to 29-year-olds. The report revealed that there is a prevalence of pervasive, drunken sexual harassment on a night out, with women particularly often putting up with this as part of ‘drinking culture’.
The aim of the report was to try to understand why some people drink so much on a night out, and why they behave in ways that put themselves and others at risk when drunk.
As a result of the report, the Wouldn’t Shouldn’t campaign was launched to raise awareness of the issue.
Campaign
#GropeFreeNights is the call to action for the Wouldn’t Shouldn’t campaign which aims to nudge young people to assess their behaviour when drinking and recognise ‘if you wouldn’t do it when you’re sober, you shouldn’t do it when you’re drunk’. This is to provoke debate and empower young people to reject the permissive culture around sexual harassment on nights out.
According to UNILAD, more than half of 18 to 24-year-old female students have experienced sexual harassment on nights out. It also stated that market researcher ICM carried our research for Drinkaware which revealed that around 34% of 2,000 students interviewed experienced a form of sexual harassment such as inappropriate touching, comments or abuse on a night out.
By the end of this year, the programme will be rolled out across the UK in a bid to reduce negative experiences related to drunkenness, including sexual harassment and anti-social behaviour. The team will work in clubs and bars to promote a positive social atmosphere, provide support to those who may be vulnerable due to drinking too much and ensure young people get home safely.