The Cabildo of Tenerife has presented this Tuesday the protocol for the prevention of sexual violence in nightlife venues, a pioneering tool that allows nightlife businesspeople to detect any type of gender violence and act accordingly.
Alongside the Cabildo of Tenerife, the protocol has been signed by the councils of Puerto de la Cruz, Adeje, and Arona and the entities Blanco Bar Tenerife SL, City 2007 S.L, Magnum Pub, Pez Gordo Iriarte S.L, The Roof Bar, Babylon Disco Gay Pub, Monkey Beach Club, Restensur, S.L, and Achaman Disco.
The president of the Cabildo of Tenerife, Rosa Dávila, thanked the companies and councils of Puerto de la Cruz, Adeje, and Arona “for wanting to start this initiative together with the Cabildo to seek a freer society”.
“We seek the commitment of all Tenerife society and today we are taking a step forward to have an island without sexual violence,” she stated, highlighting that the protocol “is born with the aim of preventing and effectively acting against situations of harassment and sexual violence that, unfortunately, are still present in leisure spaces”.
In her view, “the protocol aims to ensure that everyone, and especially women, can enjoy nightlife in equality, respect, and freedom without fear”.
For her part, the island director of Equality and Diversity, Patricia León, reiterated her gratitude to all the people and entities that have participated in the drafting of the protocol and explained that the document provides venues with a set of clear guidelines on how to act in situations of sexual violence, while the integrated local entities will be responsible for training staff in identifying cases of harassment and sexual assault.
Thus, she pointed out that “it is important to recognise the effort of the companies because they will train their employees in this matter, which is crucial to fight against sexual harassment”.
Among the actions included within this plan is the delivery of a resource guide for specialised care in gender and sexual violence so that the staff in the venues can distribute it to women who need it.
Additionally, the protocol provides for an awareness campaign in collaboration with the nightlife sector to raise public awareness of sexual violence against women and promote its prevention.
Furthermore, it encourages collaboration between the management of the venues, the State Security Forces and Corps, the councils, and services specialising in gender violence, with the aim of ensuring safe and violence-free environments for women.
The initiative also includes an evaluation tool to measure the effectiveness of the actions established in the protocol.
Modalities
This protocol will be applicable in private nightlife venues that voluntarily adhere according to the current autonomous legislation (Decree 86/2013, of 1 August, approving the Regulation of classified activities and public shows, art.41) and, therefore, in the following establishments: café theatres and café concerts, concert halls, nightclubs, dance halls and party halls, youth discos, tourist catering establishments, amusement arcades, bingo halls, and bingo casinos.
Likewise, the application will be carried out only in cases of alleged male sexual aggressors, understanding as victims of sexual violence, specifically of sexual harassment and sexual assault, women in all their diversity.
In the drafting of the protocol, the councils of Puerto de la Cruz, Adeje, and Arona have participated, in addition to the UOVG-IASS (Organic Unit of Gender Violence-Insular Institute of Social and Socio-sanitary Attention) and the Service of Equality, Prevention of Gender Violence, and Diversity of the Cabildo of Tenerife, and various companies in the sector have cooperated.
