Editorial: SOS code word ‘Angela’ vital to helping women escape nightmare Tinder dates at the pub
THE dating scene has changed massively over recent years but security is still a major concern for women. That is why cops are urging women to use a simple new code word to alert bar staff when they’re feeling at risk of a sexual attack.
Opinion
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THE dating scene has changed significantly over recent years, with initial contacts now frequently being made online prior to that first crucial real-life meeting.
Regrettably, however, some elements of dating remain as they ever were. A first meeting may be awkward, embarrassing and unsatisfactory. Even worse, particularly for women, a date could turn threatening or potentially dangerous.
Sensibly, most first dates take place in crowded social circumstances where aberrant or off-putting behaviour may be noted prior to it becoming a greater concern.
But the security of a crowd is sometimes insufficient, which is why a British organisation two years ago came up with an inventive means of offering assistance.
“Are you on a date that isn’t working out?” posters published by the Lincolnshire Rape Crisis support group asked. “Do you feel like you’re not in a safe situation? Does it all feel a bit weird?
“If you go to the bar and ask for ‘Angela’ the bar staff will know you need help getting out of your situation and will call you a taxi or help you out discreetly without too much fuss.”
Reaction to the concept was impressively positive. “What a great idea!” wrote one online supporter.
“Hope it catches in other places.” It sure has. Bars and clubs elsewhere throughout the UK and US quickly came up with their own versions of “ask for Angela”, and now an “Ask for Angela” program is set to be launched across venues in central Sydney this weekend, with bar staff being trained to respond to the coded alert.
“Given the increasing popularity of online dating apps, many people are meeting for dates at bars, clubs and pubs having never met beyond the screens of their phone or computer,” Police Minister Troy Grant told The Daily Telegraph.
“We don’t want people feeling intimidated when they’re socialising in the city. They’re out to enjoy themselves, not feel threatened, and this initiative supports their safety.”
As Fortune of War bartender Chris Lucas explains it, the Ask for Angela protocol is simple and effective. If a patron asks for “Angela” at the bar, staff must find the customer a safe and secure zone for them within the venue before arranging a safe way home for them.
Any measure that improves safety in the dating world is worthy of significant support.
World waits for boys’ safety
AS a natural geographic feature, Thailand’s Tham Luang cave network is a fascinating combination of water and deep underground tunnels.
As a rescue site, that same network is terrifyingly complicated — both for the boys trapped there since June 23 and those heroically continuing to seek their liberation.
The network’s narrow bends and twists mean that extractions can be achieved in only small numbers at a time. This is as much an exercise in extreme patience as it is a humanitarian mission for the ages. A world watches in unity and hope.
Gun violence crisis talks
THE slogan “if you see something, say something” is mostly applied to suspicions of possible terrorism planning.
Yet it also applies to other potentially deadly circumstances. Following John Edwards’ horrific murder of his children, police chiefs and the government are holding crisis meetings today to consider every strategy to combat firearm violence.
These could include asking gun clubs to inform police of any worrying indicators among their membership or even to request that doctors abandon their patient confidentiality in case of obvious concerns. With hindsight, the warning signs surrounding Edwards were clear.
He had been the subject of an apprehended violence order about 11 years ago, and he’d been turned away from three gun clubs in the months before he shot dead his son Jack and daughter Jennifer.
Under existing regulations, however, there was no way for the clubs to alert the NSW Firearms Registry or other clubs about Edwards. This situation must change. Hopefully, these meetings will enable those who see something to say something.