NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — "Our work with safe clinic and rape victims is what led us to know and understand that half of the assaults that we see — and this is nationwide — actually include alcohol or drugs being used, gang and date rapes," Lorraine Mcguire said.
McGuire is the Vice President of Community Relations at the Sexual Assault Center, which offers 24/7 rape kits in seven different counties in Tennessee. They are spearheading a new program that gives businesses a way to help prevent these alcohol-involved assaults from happening, specifically with bars on Broadway. Hear from her in the video above.
In 2018, the Sexual Assault Center became the Safe Bar trainer for the state of Tennessee.
Since then, they train restaurants and bars that serve alcohol on three things:
- Bystander intervention
- How to prevent sexual assault and sexual harassment in their bars
- Help make sure their patrons know their aim is to keep them safe at all costs
McGuire explained the process.
The training is an hour and a half long — at the end, they receive drug detection cards, posters in the restrooms and a decal to go on the front of the bar.
If someone is in trouble, there is a drink they can order to alert the employee that they feel uncomfortable or unsafe. From there, they have internal protocols to follow depending on the situation.
Councilwoman Joy Styles is Chair of the Women's Caucus, which helped the Sexual Assault Center gain a $75,000 grant to expand the Safe Bar program and build an app for it.
“It’s public safety and having a good time, and that’s what Nashville is known for — is having a good time — but we want to make sure we’re doing it safely,” Styles said.
Currently in Nashville, there are three bars that are registered in the Safe Bar program: Whisky By the Saloons, Hattie's Tavern, and most recently, Garth Brooks Friends in Low Places.
“There are actually dozens of bars and restaurants lined up behind us that very soon are gonna be available as certified safe bars. It’s almost all the celebrity bars behind us that are on board," McGuire said.
Everyone making this possible is really excited about what it has to offer, and the promise it holds for keeping Broadway's night life fun and safe.
“I see this as just the beginning. We will continue to support Lorraine and her team to keep Nashville’s nightlife safe and fun for everyone to enjoy,” Nashville Director of Nightlife, Benton McDonough, said.
How can you use the Safe Bar program?
There is a website with all of the bars that use the program, with a login, an access help button and more resources.
You can also learn more about the training and who the Sexual Assault Center is on this website.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
