Monitoring Report Lithuania

Alcohol and drug control

The very first measures mentioned by interviewees to prevent sexual harassment (and therefore probably the most important) are to control alcohol and drug consumption.

In relation to alcohol, it was suggested: not to admit customers who are already under the influence of alcohol; not to sell alcohol to extremely drunk people; and to immediately remove drunk people and those who behave inappropriately from the bar/club. It was noted that some club/bar owners prioritize revenue from alcohol sales, but staff who are committed to the safety and welfare of customers ignore this prioritization.

There is also a need to ensure that alcohol isn’t added to customers’ drinks (which they aren’t looking at). As far as drug control is concerned, the message is clear: putting drugs in another customer’s drink is an indicator of a willingness to intoxicate others and thus of inappropriate intentions. Therefore, as with alcohol, it’s recommended that drinks are monitored to ensure that nothing is surreptitiously added to them. Unmonitored drinks can be taken away by bartenders, covered with coasters, or simply poured away if they’re found to have been spiked. Customers suspected of these things should be asked to leave immediately. There is also a perception that such behavior is criminal and that perhaps the police should be called.

Other measures:
– If staff are being harassed, they can use lasers to signal to colleagues.
– Offer drinks with special names on the menu to signal harassment (Angel Shots)
– Give out code words in the bar/club to report harassment (staff know that society has grown up and would use them now if that didn’t work in the past)
– Just kick the harasser out of the bar without discussion.
– Talk to the harasser, don’t escalate the situation and the incident is done (however, staff know that not everyone is able to talk and conversations with certain groups – „moroses” – are particularly difficult)
– Designate a security staff member who is directly responsible for monitoring sexual harassment
– In large venues, bartenders may be assigned specific areas to watch and supervise
– To prevent an incident, invite the potential victim to sit at the bar where the bartender can keep an eye on them (on the other hand, there are more incidents at the bar because that’s where most alcohol is drunk and people sit close together)
– More cameras and better resolution. But there are also opinions that cameras don’t help.

Staff reactions to sexual harassment

Although these methods are used with varying frequency, they can be recognized by the commitment of the staff:
1. They notice the cases immediately, react, approach the harasser, and ask him/her strongly to leave the bar/club with the attitude: that the customers should feel comfortable and safe. This is more typical of small bars with a regular customer base who know each other, where there is a ‘family environment’ and strong informal control.
2. In larger bars/clubs (where the clientele don’t know each other) there are constant checks and a quick response to incidents, from disciplining to ejecting the offender.
3. The response is based on what can be seen and observed, control is weak.
4. In bars and clubs, incidents are noticed but preferred to be ignored and not seen. This can be the case when a less experienced girl is the only bartender and is afraid to intervene. Male staff, incidentally, have noted that intervention by the bartender/waiter himself (rather than by security) can be dangerous to appease an aggressive customer (it has been suggested to carry gas canisters for self-defense in such cases). Experienced bartenders have observed that even when they hear that „everything is fine”, they walk the extra mile to find out if everything is really fine.
5. As a matter of principle, they don’t observe or try to detect cases of harassment as they feel that this is the customer’s business. They’d only intervene if the incident escalates to physical violence.

Ability to notice and identify cases

It’s assumed that this is related to the age and professional experience of the staff. Experienced staff members immediately recognise that a situation is unsafe. They notice the signs of „eyes looking for help” even if the victim says „it’s OK” and are able to recognise a tense situation by body language. Some bartenders and waiters said that it’s almost impossible to recognise such cases because of the heavy workload. Others said that a bartender can always recognise such cases if he wants to. Young staff with little experience tend not to notice such cases and have less courage to react decisively. They find it „very uncomfortable” to confront the harasser to make him leave. There are more radical reactions when cases are ignored, such as „it’s not my job to look”, „they’ll find out themselves” or „if you [the victim] don’t like it, you can go somewhere else” or „she dressed too revealingly, what else could you expect”. On the other hand, an indifferent attitude and reluctance to prevent can also be observed among older and more experienced workers. This could be explained by attitudes towards sexual harassment in general.

Support providers

The interviews showed that staff members deal with incidents:
(a) deal with it themselves or by helping each other: e.g., female bartenders call male colleagues; a female colleague comes to help and moves away from the harasser. A female bartender has observed that harassers are more likely to respond to comments/warnings from the female bartender than from the victim because harassers respond to the status of the female bartender (they probably know they can be asked to leave);
b) call security who are either on site or on call (contracts with security companies). In the second case, you have to wait longer for help and you don’t get a problem solved as quickly. This is more common in small bars where security isn’t on duty all the time;
c) In extreme cases, the police are called.

Reactive and proactive approach

It’s possible to distinguish between two approaches. Some pubs/nightclubs and their staff accept sexual harassment as a potential risk and do everything in advance to prevent it. They set rules and priorities that must be followed. The well-being of the potential victim takes precedence over the discomfort of the harasser (monitoring, intervening, talking to the potential harasser, etc.). Others merely react to events and responses range from helping to ignoring or responding only as a last resort.

Asking the staff for help

Staff interviewed note that victims are often unaware that they can ask staff for help in cases of sexual harassment or are reluctant to do so. They’re even more hesitant to go to the police. Only rarely does someone make a sign or „show signs with their eyes”. Most of the time, victims try to deal with the situation alone, or they rely on the help of female friends who have banded together (in the best case, they’re male friends).

One bartender who was sexually harassed remarked that the victims „would probably be very happy if the staff noticed the harassment themselves and provided help without being asked”.

However, there were also bars where the victims themselves asked for help. Staff noted that it depends on the situation who takes the initiative first to stop the harasser (the victim or the staff).

Responsibility of the harasser and the victim

Although unquantifiable, opinions differed widely as to who was responsible for the sexual harassment: some blamed the uncontrolled harasser, others the provoking victim.

Encouraging customers to seek help

Bars and clubs that can be described as „socially responsible” make a special effort to inform their customers that they can and should contact the staff in case of sexual harassment. They need to be „indoctrinated” with this idea. The owners of the venues need to spend time and resources on training new staff.

Measures aimed at the public

In addition to the measures in nightlife entertainment venues, it was proposed to educate the public on what sexual harassment is, how to recognize it, and how to respect the dignity of the person and the integrity of the body.