Nationwide boycott of nightclubs with 'Girls Night In'

A spokesperson for the Students Union said: “We are aware many students up and down the country plan to take part in a boycott of nightclubs and venues as part of the Girls Night In’ campaign. The national campaign wants venues to focus on preventative work, welfare and support.

“We’ve heard from some UCLan students who plan to take part in the boycott locally and we are sharing advice, guidance and resources with sports clubs and societies who would like to join in with the boycott in Preston and other UCLan campuses.

“The Students’ Union is committed to tackling spiking and any form of sexual harassment. We have already started conversations with the University on how us, local stakeholders and venues can do more to make our community feel safer and have things in place to; prevent further incidents, ensure venues have the correct procedures and support in place and guarantee the safety of students and other customers.

“We want our students to always get home safe from nights out, even if you run out of money. This is why we currently have a ‘take me home’ scheme which is available for all students studying at the Preston campus.”

The Union will attend a Pubnet meeting tomorrow (Thursday) with Lancashire Police and local venues to discuss the current issues.

The spokesperson added: “We intend to host a drop-in session with Odette, VP Welfare and Katie, VP Activities next week in the Students’ Union Drop-In the Student Centre, for any students, members of clubs or societies or other reps to come along and have a chat.

“We welcome students thoughts and ideas on any preventative work they’d like to see and what interventions they’d like put in place to protect them and keep the community safe.

“Nobody should ever feel unsafe or at risk when simply wanting to enjoy a night out with friends.”

A petition calling for it to be a ‘legal requirement’ for nightclubs to ‘thoroughly’ search customers upon arrival has been signed by more than 130,000 people.

Explaining why she signed the petition, student Ellen Day said: “I am a member of Lancaster University and I want to feel safe when I go into the city at night.”

Sarah Hansen added: “Women of all ages should be able to go to bars and clubs without feeling afraid that they might get spiked. It shouldn’t be just up to women to protect themselves, bars and clubs need to do more so that women feel safe when going out.”

Karen Saunders said: “I have young daughters and I’m always worried about their safety when out at night.”

Steve Clunas commented that his daughter is at Lancaster Uni and I want her to feel safe when she goes out.”

Jenni Dybell sadly put it: “I’m sick of having to be vigilant at all times.”