Sydney Music Venue Club 77 went viral this week because it updated its safety policy to include unwanted staring as harassment.
In an Instagram post, the venue wrote: “As a nightclub, we encourage you to interact with strangers. However, any engagement MUST begin with verbal consent.
“This also applies if you are, for example, staring at someone from afar. If the attention you are giving someone is unwanted, that is considered harassment.”
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Naturally, the media picked up the story and plenty of people weighed in and were critical, from Karl Stefanovic to Lisa Wilkinson to just people on Twitter.
Like any decision, some people thought it was fabulous, and others thought it was ridiculous.
https://twitter.com/IgnatiusKeane/status/1562625254937071617
YES this is the best thing ever!! The amount of creepy AF staring I’ve put up with at bars over the years…And I’ve always been the one to leave because it’s so uncomfortable. Over it! 👏🏻 Well done Club 77. @Chris____Harris @dailytelegraph pic.twitter.com/hdMmDn0clP
— Kate Allman (@KateAllman_) August 25, 2022
The backslash has been quite severe when you consider Club 77 came out with this policy to make patrons feel safe.
Purple Sneakers has reported that Club co-director Dane Gorrell has now slammed the media coverage the update received, and he said: “People are reading the headlines and clickbait headlines and making judgements. Realistically when you come into a venue, you want to feel safe. Any unwanted attention or unwanted situation should be prevented.
“Whether it’s a glance from across the room, if it makes people uncomfortable, it’s not on. The people that come into the venue need to act in a respectful way. We are a music and culture venue, and that’s what we are promoting and pushing. The headlines are suggesting we are banning staring.
“What we are about is making people feel safe in the venue. Under no circumstances should someone come into the venue and not feel safe. We’re all about making sure that any patron that enters the venue feel safe while they are inside. Any unwanted attention will be dealt with straight away.”
