Nottingham’s Nightlife: Problematic Bouncers Rife in our City?

For many students, going clubbing is a fun-filled weekly ritual. However, clubbing environments have proven to be a breeding ground for misogynistic behaviour, violence and power abuse, from both those attending the venues and the security overseeing them. Lottie Murray investigates bouncer aggression in Nottingham and the preventative initiatives that are being introduced to help nightclub attendees feel safer.

Speaking with Impact, a UoN student described an experience they had at the beginning of last term whilst on a night out. A bouncer had rushed over to their friend and “pushed them to the floor while kicking and restraining them outside the front of [the club]”.

The student then went on to explain that, throughout the violent altercation, their friend was being called “horrific names” and suffered afterwards with several injuries. They told Impact that they were left feeling decidedly “unsafe”, ironically by the very individuals “supposed to be keeping us safe in the nightclub”.

One of the main issues appears to be that nightclub security is a male-dominated industry, with statistics showing that around 90% of door staff in entertainment venues are male. Undoubtedly, any gender can be subject to bouncer aggression. However, considering the recent media coverage of women feeling unsafe on nights out, there is even more of a need for those in charge to reassure female attendees that they will be protected.

Emily Garton, the University’s Women*’s Officer, told Impact that “as much as I appreciate that violence and abuse is a difficult issue across the industry, I do feel as though women*’s issues and general safety issues are not prioritised”.

There is a desperate need for all victims of violence to be taken more seriously and, until bouncers ensure that everyone feels equally safe on a night out, this issue will only continue to grow.

Emily has been creating close partnerships with groups who are working hard to protect the rights of women, and all other genders, against the violent misconduct of bouncers.

Although Emily completely acknowledges that “companies need to update their policies and rectify the process of carrying out background checks”, she is optimistic that these groups will help to prevent the issue from worsening.

Moving forward, we too must remain hopeful that initiatives such as The Consent Coalition’s ‘Safe Space Pledge’ will encourage those in authoritative positions to push for the positive change we are all so keen to see.

The pledge outlines several actions for change. These encompass: taking reports seriously, providing nonjudgemental support, employing safety champions in venues, displaying safety information clearly and adopting a zerotolerance policy towards harmful language, behaviour or attitudes to women. It is important to note that although this pledge is targeted at women, it by no means excludes other genders.

The pledge emphasises a number of non-negotiable, crucial actions which must be taken to improve safety on nights out. However, in doing so, it simultaneously reminds us that there are several areas in which nightclubs are failing to protect us.

I urge the student community to continue researching the different initiatives aimed at keeping nightclub attendees safe. This way, we can keep the pressure on nightclub owners, security and police to ensure worrying stories like the ones above do not become commonplace in our city.

Impact reached out to multiple nightclubs in Nottingham for a response, but received no comment.

By Lottie Murray

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