Experts have called on the state government to act on research conducted in Geelong on harmful sexual behaviour at nightlife venues.
A research team from Deakin University’s School of Psychology interviewed people exiting 18 Geelong venues on Saturday nights between December 2022 and February 2023.
They found unwanted behaviour such as leering, groping and forcible kissing were more prevalent in places that were more dark, noisy and tightly packed.
Deakin professor of violence prevention and addiction studies Peter Miller said the Victorian government needed to tighten liquor licensing regulations to ensure venue patrons could feel safe from sexual harm.
“We need to see real action from government, the police and the venues to prioritise the safety of patrons,” he said.
“We’ve worked with great venues and police, but without system level changes all that work ultimately goes to waste.
“Dark, crowded spaces inside nightlife venues leave patrons particularly vulnerable to unwanted touching and sexual comments.
“Venues can improve safety by increasing lighting, limiting the number of patrons so spaces, particularly dance floors, aren’t crammed with people, as well as increasing the visibility of security staff.”
More than 230 people aged between 18 and 65 were interviewed for the Geelong study, including equal numbers of women and men. The median age of respondents was 21 years.
Half the women and almost one third of the men reported being the target of unwanted and harmful sexual behaviour, including being leered at, sexually propositioned, touched, groped or forcibly kissed.
Deakin PhD candidate Kira Button said many of the young women who spoke to researchers felt these behaviours were a normal part of going out.
“During venue observations, security staff were often hard to locate, either because there were too few of them or because their dark uniforms made them difficult to see in low lighting,” she said.
“We asked patrons to rate venue brightness on a scale from one to ten. For each one-point increase in perceived brightness, the odds of experiencing sexual harm fell by 27 per cent.”
