Sydney’s Club 77 has tried to make the venue a safer and more inclusive space by banning staring unless “verbal consent” is given.
After noticing some customers weren’t sharing their “values and ethics when it comes to club culture, consent and harassment,” Club 77 announced earlier this month that new measures were being introduced to make the venue a safe space.
“As a nightclub, we encourage you to interact with strangers, however any engagement MUST begin with verbal consent,” the Darlinghurst spot explained in a statement. “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.”
To ensure such consent is provided, Club 77 now has designated designated security guard acting as a ‘Safety Officer’ each night: wearing a highly-noticeable pink hi-vis vest, it’s their specific job to handle any complaints about harassment or unwanted attention.
If an individual is deemed to be staring without prior consent, the ‘Safety Officer’ can remove them from the venue and call the police to deal with the situation.
In the updated rules, Club 77 has also discouraged people from attending the venue if their “sole purpose” is to meet someone to “pick up.” It’s unclear where the line is drawn between, for example, accidental eye contact and intentional leering, with this decision coming down to the ‘Safety Officer’.
“Club 77 is committed to developing and nurturing a strong culture of consent. We encourage feedback on how we can continue to improve and ask all our community to please help us improve our space,” the statement ended.
And the feedback has duly come. While there were understandably some people decrying the new rules, the response online was largely positive, particularly from women.
“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,” wrote journalist Kate Allman on Twitter.
“Positive party culture all the way,” commented someone on Club 77’s Instagram. “Thank you for looking after your peoples,” added someone else. “Backing this 11 per cent,” hailed another fan of the move.
An iconic late-night hotspot in Sydney, Club 77 only recently relaunched as the city’s newest dive bar destination. Famed for its electronic music offerings, the likes of legendary Aussie DJ Phil Smart have hailed the venue: “Club 77 is a venue that I’ve spent more time in than any other on the planet. A place where some amazing times have been had, both behind the decks and on the dancefloor,” he said.
