Social event safety campaign adopted in East Lothian
Have you ever been out on a date and felt uncomfortable, intimidated or that your date was behaving aggressively towards you?
#AskForAngela is a campaign that aims to help you get out of a difficult situation as quickly and safely as possible. 
If you’re in a pub, bar or club, ask either behind the bar or a member of staff for Angela. Using the simple code-word will alert the staff that there’s an issue with your date and they will help you get out of the situation safely and discreetly.
East Lothian Council and Police Scotland, as well as Best Bar None Scotland are supporting #AskForAngela and are encouraging local venues to use this fantastic initiative as part of their social responsibility tool kit.
The scheme has been running for several years in parts of the UK and has been successfully implemented in Kilmarnock, Aberdeen and Dunfermline.
The campaign was created to help women and men escape a date safely and discreetly. The developers behind #AskForAngela realised that sometimes a young woman or man may struggle to leave their date or be too afraid to tell them they wish to end it due to the possible threat of violence or aggression. #AskForAngela is a safer alternative.
Whilst #AskForAngela is catching on, it’s still only being used in a fraction of pubs and bars across Scotland. We need your help to spread the message and promote the campaign so use the #AskForAngela on twitter to let others know!
All participating Best Bar None venues in East Lothian were given posters and are supporting the scheme but it would be great for more venues across the county to follow suit.
Community Safety Officer for East Lothian, PC Allen Paul said: “Police in East Lothian fully support the Ask For Angela initiative which is a great tool for staff and partners to support members of the public on a night out and help customers if they are in a difficult situation. The last thing we want is for someone to feel vulnerable, and feel that they are in a helpless situation with no one to assist them."
“This scheme helps and reassures people if they are on a night out to feel safe and that the staff in the venues are fully aware of when things can go wrong”