Rosa grantee Bryony Beynon is behind Good Night Out Campaign, which works to end sexual harassment and assault in nightlife communities. As well as receiving a grant through Voices From The Frontline, Bryony was also sponsored by Rosa to take part in the Emerging Leaders programme, run by Clore.
The Good Night Out campaign came out of activist work around street harassment as part of global organisation Hollaback. For our branch, Hollaback London, we mapped and archived stories of sexual harassment and assault and it became clear that many of these were occurring around venues such as bars, pubs, clubs and festivals. In a space that you’d presume would be more controlled than the street, people were reporting they were feeling even more harmed by the lack of compassionate response.
It started as a small project of that wider initiative in 2014 and it has blown away all expectations in terms of how much interest there was of tackling assault in licensed spaces. I took a two-year break to live in Australia where I upskilled and trained workers focusing on how and why it happens and how they can respond. I really support skill-sharing; I try to live by the idea that anything I’ve learnt to do is by watching someone else and thinking, I can try that, so I want to pass that knowledge on.
I was lucky enough to receive funding from Rosa to take part on the Emerging Leaders programme at Clore and there is no way I could have done that without Rosa! I feel massively supported by Rosa, too – their way of working with grantees is incredible and I’m really happy to be part of it.
I didn’t expect the programme to turn the lens inwards; I learnt a lot about myself. I thought it would be more practical – where are you on your leadership journey, for example – but I’ve realised why you need to do the self-work before you do the other stuff. I found that difficult in terms of not matching my expectations, but I’ve come to see how important that was.
The mutual aid aspect of the programme was a pleasant surprise; I feel I’m part of a cohort community that is so helpful. I’ve met amazing women who are able to talk through issues and challenges, which is really handy.
I would love to be part of a reinvigorated women’s movement that doesn’t shy away from the bigger political questions and structures we all live in. I understand how women’s sector organisations can’t always be part of those conversations because of the funding landscape, but there is a new generation of emerging leaders who are saying we need to grapple with these questions in a collaborative way. Social leadership, self-awareness, collaboration and reflection all fit together, and I’m excited to be part of that.
Our ultimate goal is campaigning for a licensing law to include a mandatory component – training to deal with sexual harassment and assault. Being able to call out the behaviour as unacceptable and making sure the perpetrators are accountable too, is vital. Funding and capacity are our challenges – I would love to have an office space and not be working from my kitchen table! I’d love to have that core funding that enables us to run our accreditation scheme with larger premises and influence at that level.
To find out more, visit www.goodnightoutcampaign.org and follow on Twitter @_goodnightout and on Facebook @goodnightoutcampaign