Following an increase in groping-related incidents at some Vancouver clubs and bars, an organization that helps keep patrons safe is making a change.
Previously, anyone found to be engaged in unwanted sexual touching would be barred from the bars and clubs enrolled in the BarWatch program.
But now the president says the ban wasn’t long enough.
“We had a one-year ban in place for some time, and it wasn’t getting through so I made the decision recently to increase this to two years,” Curtis Robinson, chair of BarWatch told Global News.
The ban would apply to entry to any of the 36 bars and clubs that are members of the program.
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Bars will also report any cases of groping to Vancouver police to be investigated.
Robinson said if the two-year ban doesn’t reduce the groping incidents then they might consider increasing it again and to a lifetime ban if necessary.
Stacey Forrester runs Good Night Out Vancouver, which is a program dedicated to ending sexual violence in the city’s hospitality and service industry.
She said the move to a two-year ban is a good one, but prevention is also key.
“For a long time behaviours like groping were ignored or dismissed, or were not seen that serious and this is a way to show that this is serious,” she said. “Enforcement is the last step in the chain and I think there’s opportunity for training, so we don’t have to see that happen anymore.”