More Nashville bars taking sexual assault prevention training through ‘SAFE Bar’ program
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — After months of efforts and building relationships, dozens more bars are participating in the Nashville Sexual Assault Center’s SAFE Bar training program.
The program trains employees at places serving alcohol to identify signs of sexual harassment and assault and properly intervene. However, bars weren’t eager to sign up despite the free program when the Sexual Assault Center began advocating for its expansion last year.
“The difficulty sometimes is having to pay your staff to attend,” explained Sexual Assault Center Director of Training and Outreach Tia Freeman in November, adding that there might be a financial barrier or no incentive to do the training.
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On Tuesday, the Sexual Assault Center was joined by representatives from the Metro Nashville Police Department, Metro Council, the mayor’s office, the Beer Board, and restaurant groups to announce more bars have signed up to participate in the program.
The center said, last November, only one bar on Lower Broadway participated in the program, but now there are three with more sending their staff to be trained.
“We also have representation from TC Restaurant Group, Tootsie’s Entertainment, and Solaren Risk Management,” said Sexual Assault Center VP of Community Relations Lorraine McGuire. “There’s actually dozens of bars and restaurants lined up behind us that very soon are going to be available as also certified SAFE Bars, which is huge. It’s almost all of the celebrity bars behind us that are now on board.”
To be considered a certified SAFE Bar, at least 50% of a business’s employees need to go through the hour-and-a-half-long training.
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McGuire said last Friday, more than 60 people were trained.
Last year, the Metro Council’s Women’s Caucus advocated for their colleagues to approve spending $75,000 to support the program. Caucus Chair Joy Styles hopes that now that some big-name bars like Garth Brook’s Friends in Low Places honky tonk are certified, others will follow.
“Now it’s just a domino effect, right?” said Styles. “It’s a matter of who gets on board first, and then it’s trickle-down theory, so now we have an opportunity for all of Broadway to be SAFE Bar certified.”
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Styles said the Women’s Caucus plans to continue to advocate for funding to the SAFE Bar program in this year’s budget and caucus members are encouraging bars in their districts to participate.
The Sexual Assault Center keeps an updated map of bars that are certified on its website.
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