Let's UNITE

With hate crime on the up, Danny Clare,

By REBECCA PITCAIRN

With more than 60% of LGBTQ+specific pubs, clubs and music venues disappearing in the past decade, providing safe and welcoming environments for the LGBTQ+ community is more important than ever.

Four years ago, St Albans resident Danny Clare founded Ask for Clive, an initiative that promotes inclusivity within the night time economy. The charity, which works with local communities and venues to create welcoming environments for the LGBTQ+ community and collaborates with law enforcement on training and reporting initiatives, began in 2019 when Danny joined forces with mentor, activist and charity namesake, Clive Duffy.

“We held a forum in St Albans during LGBT History Month to discuss what there was for the community and, back then, there wasn’t really anything,” Danny explains. “Not only that, but we ascertained that every single person in the room had been subject to some sort of physical or verbal abuse in and around the nighttime economy. So, we decided to do something about that.”

The initiative encourages people to Ask for Clive at the bar if they are feeling threatened or experiencing abuse – this coded phrase will then prompt staff to take appropriate action. Participating venues are provided with a free rainbow window sticker to display, which reads, ‘Everyone is welcome here’, and the charity also provides detailed training material for staff so that, in the event someone does Ask for Clive, the victim is safeguarded.

“The sticker is on point of entry, it has to go on the front door, so it’s a signpost both ways to show people are welcome there, but it’s also about influencing behaviour as clearly, for things to change, people need to change their behaviour,” explains Danny. “We don’t actually want people to have to Ask for Clive. We’re about prevention and creating an environment where certain behaviour is just unacceptable. It’s about trying to get those two guys in the group of six who aren't comfortable with what their friend is saying about someone to say, ‘look stop, we don't like this. You know, this is not right’.”

The charity has grown quickly from its humble beginnings in St Albans with over 3,000 pubs across the country now sporting an Ask for Clive sticker on its door. And, as of 1 July, the Heineken UK pub group has announced that all its 2,400 Star pubs and bars will join the campaign.

“It’s amazing how much it’s grown. We have venues across the UK, from the Shetland Islands to Gibraltar,” says Danny, adding that while it’s an encouraging move in the right direction, there is still a long way to go.

According to the latest available Home Office statistics, hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales were up 26% in the year ending March 2022, compared with the previous year – the biggest percentage increase in hate crimes since 2017.

A 2021 Hate Crime Report by LGBT+ anti-abuse charity Gallop also found that two-thirds of the LGBTQ community had experienced anti-LGBT+ violence or abuse. Of those, only one in eight reported their experiences to the police.

“I think we are, as a nation, pretty unaware of what goes on out there,” says Danny. “But I personally know many people within the community who are terrified. So, we really rely on venues and operators to be gatekeepers of inclusivity.”

Ask for Clive, which is also working on a ‘Lost Venues’ initiative to reanimate some of the iconic LGBTQ+-specific spaces lost in the past few years, continues to receive overwhelming support from its home county with masses of Hertfordshire-based venues taking part in the charity's annual Pub Pride event, which took place in May.

Now in its third year, the event welcomes in the Pride month of June for local communities, with pubs, bars, and clubs participating in a range of ways. Some simply display Pub Pride flags and bunting to show their support, while others put on special events including live music, drag shows, karaoke, street art, as well as food and drinks.

“We launched the first Pub Pride in 2021, following the cancellation and postponement of many pride events due to Covid. We wanted to give communities the opportunity to celebrate Pride locally and for venues to benefit from a great night,” explains Danny. “Because Ask For Clive is really community led and the community here in Hertfordshire have been amazing from the Sheldan Inn in Wellington Garden City to the Red Lion in Hatfield and Dylans in St Albans, there are so many to mention and they’ve all been brilliant.”

See more at askforclive.com