Fear, "Discomfort," Anger, and Shame in the Night-Time Economy: Women's Responses to Unwanted Sexual Intrusions.

Despite a surge of attention to gender-based violence (GBV), research about the night-time economy (NTE) as a site of gendered violence is limited. Even less research examines women's emotional responses to "unwanted sexual intrusions" (USI) in the NTE. Analyzing women's emotional responses can generate deeper understanding of social phenomena, power and its operation, and is in keeping with feminist theorizing that uses a victim-survivor-centered approach. Analysis of qualitative data, from a survey we conducted in the United Kingdom, reveals women experience USI in the NTE as a frightening, shameful injustice. The article discusses these emotions in light of the changing "emotional climate" about GBV.

"It's like a safety net for when things go wrong": key stakeholder and program user perspectives on a peer-led safe space program in Sydney, Australia.

BACKGROUND: Safe Spaces are a harm reduction approach commonly utilised in nightlife and festival settings to address alcohol and other drug-related harms. Despite increasing use, there has been little independent evaluation of safe space programs. This study aimed to explore (1) program user satisfaction with and use of a safe space program implemented in Sydney, Australia (The Take Kare Safe Space (TKSS)), and (2) the strengths and weaknesses of TKSS from the perspective of key stakeholders. METHODS: Semi-structured, in-depth, interviews lasting between 30 min to 1 h were conducted with 38 key program stakeholders, including staff from police (n = 4), ambulance (n = 4), a local hospital accident and emergency room (n = 4), local council (n = 2), city 'rangers' (n = 2), the TKSS program (n = 4), licensed venues and other nightlife service providers (n = 4), and program users (n = 14). Purposive sampling was used to identify key stakeholders to participate in interviews. RESULTS: Stakeholders stated that the TKSS program had a number of core benefits, including that it filled a service gap in nightlife settings; improved the efficiency and effectiveness of emergency services and other stakeholders operating in nightlife precincts; provided welfare services through proactive and non-judgmental interventions; and facilitated a means to de-escalate conflict without engaging police. Perceived weaknesses of the program included a lack of public awareness about the program; staff and volunteer levels; and misunderstandings regarding the scope and function of the TKSS program by some stakeholders. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the complex relationships that exist around the delivery of harm reduction in nightlife settings. In particular, it highlights the relative lack of servicing of public nightlife settings and the value of safe spaces/peer-to-peer safety ambassador programs in linking up care and filling this service gap. Further, it documents the extended benefit across key stakeholder groups of delivering proactive and non-judgemental harm reduction services and, in doing so, provides critical evidence around their efficacy in reducing AOD-related harms in the night-time economy.

An overlooked effect: domestic violence and alcohol policies in the night-time economy.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Restrictive late-night alcohol policies are aimed at reducing alcohol-related violence but, to date, no evaluations of their impact on family and domestic violence have been conducted. This study aimed to measure whether modifying the drinking environment and restricting on-site trading hours affected reported rates of family and domestic violence. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: This study used a non-equivalent control group design with two treatment sites and two matched control sites with pre- and postintervention data on rates of family and domestic violence assaults within local catchment areas of four late-night entertainment precincts in New South Wales, Australia, covering a population of 27 309 people. Participants comprised monthly counts of police-recorded incidents of domestic violence assaults from January 2001 to December 2019. INTERVENTIONS AND COMPARATORS: Two variations of restrictive late-night interventions were used: restricted entry to late-night venues after 1:30 a.m., trading ceasing at 3:30 a.m. and other restrictions on alcohol service (Newcastle); and restricted entry to late-night venues after 1 a.m. and a range of restrictions on alcohol service (Hamilton). The comparators were no restrictions on late-night trading or modifications of the drinking environment (Wollongong and Maitland). MEASUREMENTS: Measurements involved the rate, type and timing of reported family and domestic violence assaults. FINDINGS: Reported rates of domestic violence assaults fell at both intervention sites, while reported domestic violence assaults increased over time in the control sites. The protective effects in Newcastle were robust and statistically significant across three main models. The relative reduction associated with the intervention in Newcastle was 29% (incidence rate ratio = 0.71, 95% confidence interval: 0.60-0.83) and an estimated 204 assaults were prevented across the duration of the study. The protective effects found in Hamilton were not consistently supported across the three main models. CONCLUSIONS: Increases to late-night alcohol restrictions may reduce rates of domestic violence.

Using Cumulative Impact Assessment as a Smokescreen in New South Wales Alcohol Harm Reduction Laws: A Commentary.

In 2020 the New South Wales Liquor Act was amended to allow the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA) to approve new liquor authorisations in parts of the Sydney CBD otherwise subject to a freeze. The vehicle for this was called Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA). The Amendment added promotion of business vitality to an established list of considerations previously set out by ILGA in its Guideline (6) on social impact assessment. The strategy set out in a new Guideline (18) appears to use an impartial and objective methodology while advocating reliance on intangible criteria and selective use of data in order to increase applicant chances of success against a rebuttable presumption against approval. While CIA is an established method in other professional areas, its use in the amendment influenced by the industry risks exacerbating alcohol-related harm.

Pre-drinking behaviour of people in the night-time economy: Evidence from a street-intercept survey in New Zealand.

INTRODUCTION: Pre-drinking behaviour has grown in prevalence and generates harm for pre-drinkers and others. In this article, we answer three research questions: (i) Where and when do pre-drinkers obtain their alcohol?; (ii) What is the difference in the level of intoxication of pre-drinkers versus non-pre-drinkers, and how does this difference vary over the course of a night?; and (iii) Is the level of intoxication of pre-drinkers related to where and when they obtain their alcohol? METHODS: We obtained data from 469 respondents using a street-intercept survey conducted in Hamilton, New Zealand in 2019. Data were analysed by cross-tabulation, linear regression and plotting the average intoxication level in the night-time economy over time. RESULTS: The majority of pre-drinkers purchase their alcohol for pre-drinking on the day of consumption. Half of the same-day purchasers purchase before 6 pm. The average level of intoxication increases over the course of the night, and is unambiguously higher for pre-drinkers than non-pre-drinkers. The level of intoxication does not differ based on the source or timing of pre-drinking purchases. The main motivation for pre-drinking was price, especially among women. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Pre-drinking is a contributor to intoxication in the night-time economy, but most drinkers purchase their alcohol for pre-drinking before 7 pm. Further research is required to understand whether trading hours restrictions for off-premises alcohol suppliers will affect the most harmful drinking patterns. Price interventions to reduce the price differential between on-licenced and off-licence alcohol outlets offer the greatest potential to reduce pre-drinking and associated harm.

Side-loading prevalence and intoxication in the night-time economy.

Although pre-drinking has attracted considerable research interest, side-loading (any drinking occurring outside of licensed premises during a night out, and excluding drinking at home) is comparatively under-studied. In this paper, we investigate the prevalence of side-loading behaviour and intoxication in the night-time economy of Hamilton, New Zealand's fourth-largest city. Using a street-intercept survey conducted over six nights (n = 469) in March and April 2019, we found that 17.5% of research participants (82/469), and 19.9% of drinkers (82/413), had engaged in side-loading. Of those engaging in side-loading, the majority did so in a car (61.0%), with smaller proportions engaging in side-loading in the street (17.1%), a carpark (12.2%), or somewhere else (13.4%). Men were significantly more likely than women to engage in side-loading behaviour (p = 0.001). In linear models controlling for time of the night, day of the week, and demographic variables, side-loading was not statistically significantly associated with breath alcohol content. This contrasts with pre-drinking, which was associated with statistically significantly higher breath alcohol content. Our results suggest that side-loading might not be used as a method for drinkers to enhance intoxication, but instead as a means of sustaining a target level of intoxication during an evening.

A Balancing Act: Agency and Constraints in University Students' Understanding of and Responses to Sexual Violence in the Night-Time Economy.

This article extends our understanding of how university students make sense of, and respond to, sexual violence in the night-time economy (NTE). Based on semi-structured interviews with 26 students in a city in England, we examine students' constructions of their experiences of sexual violence within the NTE, exploring their negotiations with, and resistance to, this violence. Building upon theories of postfeminism, we interrogate the possibilities for resistance within the gendered spaces of the NTE and propose a disaggregated conceptualization of agency to understand responses to sexual violence, thereby offering useful insights for challenging sexual violence in the NTE and in universities.

The value of identification scanner technology in monitoring and detecting banned patrons in entertainment precincts.

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: Networked identification (ID) scanner technology is a novel approach to collecting licensed venue attendance data, and potentially reducing alcohol-related violence by detecting banned patrons. Using ID scanner data from three Queensland entertainment precincts (Safe Night Precincts; SNPs), we aim to: (i) examine patterns in patron attendance to licensed venues; and (ii) examine patterns in the detection of banned patrons. DESIGN AND METHODS: We conducted descriptive analyses of licensed venue patron entries between 1 October 2017 and 30 June 2019. Scans during high alcohol hours (Friday and Saturday, 20:00-06:00) were stratified by patron sex and key age groups. We described scans associated with a detected banning notice issued by venues, courts or police across all Queensland SNPs and three key SNPs. RESULTS: ID scanner data showed similar attendance trends across SNPs. The peak licensed venue entry hour was 23:00-23:59, with Saturday being the peak day. Approximately two-thirds of scanned patrons were male, and patrons had a mean age of 25.8 years (SD = 8.80). Scanners detected 48 657 attempted entries by banned patrons, with the majority of attempts made by males (85%) aged 18-24 years (61%). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: This study adds to the limited evidence on the use of ID scanners in the night-time economy and highlights the feasibility of ID scanner use in this setting. Results demonstrate the value of scanners to passively collect data on patrons, identify banned patrons and assist in the enforcement of bans.

'I feel like I have to become part of that identity': Negotiating femininities and friendships through alcohol consumption in Newcastle, UK.

Whilst women's excessive alcohol consumption has traditionally been regarded as a potential threat to health, safety and even femininity, recent research highlights the important role that alcohol plays in many young women's lives. Drawing on data from semi-structured interviews with women aged 18-25 in Newcastle, UK, this paper will consider the role that alcohol can play in the negotiation of female friendships in the Night Time Economy, highlighting the ways in which young women may regard alcohol as a tool to enhance socialising, trust and intimacy (both when pre-drinking and in bars, pubs and clubs). The role of alcohol in 'doing' gender and femininity will also be explored, as young women collectively display feminine identities through particular drinking choices and practices that may include heavy drinking and drunkenness. Finally, I will consider the implications for young women who do not engage in these collective practices of alcohol consumption and suggest avenues for future work on the under-researched topic of the experiences of non-drinkers.

The acceptability of alcohol intoxication management services to users: A mixed methods study.

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: Alcohol Intoxication Management Services (AIMS) provide basic care for intoxication and minor injuries, have been increasingly implemented in urban areas characterised by a large number of premises licensed for the sale and on-site consumption of alcohol, with the goal of reducing alcohol's burden on emergency services, including referrals into hospital emergency departments. The acceptability of new health services to users is a key effectiveness outcome. The aim was to describe patient experiences when attending an AIMS and document the acceptability of AIMS to users. DESIGN AND METHODS: A sequential mixed methods study was undertaken involving semi-structured interviews with participants from four AIMS followed by a survey of users recruited from six AIMS. RESULTS: Interviewees (N = 19) were positive about the care they received in AIMS and appreciated the friendly, non-judgemental atmosphere. Survey respondents rated their experience in AIMS positively (on a 0 to 10 Likert scale, mean = 9.34, SD = 1.38, n = 188). Frequently given reasons for attendance included drinking alcohol (57%) and minor injury (42%); 24% said they would have attended the emergency department had the AIMS not been available and 6% said they would have preferred to go to the emergency department; 31% indicated they would have felt unsafe without the AIMS. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: AIMS are acceptable to users. AIMS are likely to address previously unmet demand for a safe space within the night-time environment.

Playing with gender borders: flirting and alcohol consumption among young adults in Denmark.

In the present article we explore and discuss the gendered aspects of how flirting among young people is an integrated part of a night out among young adults in Denmark, specifically a night out in mainstream bars and clubs. Empirically, we base our analysis on 140 qualitative interviews with regular alcohol users between 18 - 25 years of age. Drawing on Ahmed's (2006) notion on orientation in combination with Thorne's (1993) notions on gender play and borderwork, our aim is to explore and discuss how flirting - for these young people - become an unavoidable interactional practice in Night Time Economy (NTE) contexts, which, in some cases is experienced as easy and enjoyable, and in others as uncomfortable and challenging. In the analysis we specifically focus on how gender norms related to the NTE is navigated and/or challenged by our participants, in relation to flirting. On this basis, we show how the gendered structures of the mainstream NTE are, in some instances, supportive of its participants flirting practices and experiences, and challenging in other cases. In conclusion, we emphasize that the young people relate challenges to queer flirting as well as heterosexual flirting, and that notions of risks in this context relate to risks of marginalization, rather than health risks.

The Impact of Liquor Restrictions on Serious Assaults across Queensland, Australia.

Aims: This study aimed to explore the relationship between a 00:00 liquor restriction, introduced on 1 July 2016, and alcohol-related harm by examining its impact on serious assault numbers during high-alcohol hours (20:00-6:00 Friday and Saturday night), from 1 January 2009 to 30 June 2018. Methods: Two types of locations only impacted by the liquor restriction were identified: designated safe night precincts (SNPs) and other local government areas (LGAs). A times series autoregressive integrated moving average analysis was used to estimate the influence of liquor restrictions on police-recorded serious assaults in the two years following the policy introduction, for SNPs and LGAs separately. Results: Contrarily to our predictions, monthly police-recorded serious assaults did not significantly change within SNPs or LGAs following the introduction of liquor restrictions. Conclusion: The implementation of the Queensland liquor restriction did not result in a clear, unique reduction in serious assault trends. Further investigation should consider the impact of liquor restrictions in conjunction with other policy changes as public perception of restrictions and their cumulative impact may produce varied outcomes.

Alcohol consumption among university students in the night-time economy in the UK: A three-wave longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: Excessive alcohol consumption is commonly reported in university/college students, and contributes to emerging peer-group relations. PURPOSE: This study aimed to provide up-to-date longitudinal data on students' alcohol consumption patterns, and predictors of this, across a single academic year. METHODS: A 3-wave study was conducted at a university in the UK. Participants reported their alcohol consumption patterns, along with perceptions of the social norms and behavioral expectations associated with attending licensed venues where alcohol is sold (the "night time economy"). Participants also reported their social identification with this environment. RESULTS: Around half of participants overall fell into the three higher alcohol-risk categories (moderate, high or hazardous drinking). A modest reduction in consumption was observed across the study. At each assessment point, males reported greater alcohol consumption in the preceding two months than females, while Year 4 students and those on graduate-entry programs reported the lowest consumption. Excessive alcohol consumption was regarded as largely normative within the night time economy, both descriptively ("what others do") and injunctively ("what others approve of"). Social identification and norm perceptions, along with gender, year group, and intoxication and socialising expectations, were significantly associated with higher alcohol consumption at baseline. However, baseline consumption was the only variable significantly associated with alcohol use at the end of the academic year. CONCLUSIONS: Many students drink alcohol at potentially harmful levels, and norms and expectations supporting this consumption are prominent and stable. The findings support a targeted approach to intervention that accounts for heterogeneity in the student population.

Content, perceptions and impact of alcoholic drink promotions in nightlife venues that are targeted towards students.

BACKGROUND: Binge drinking is generally considered socially acceptable for students across Western culture. Social norms within the student population have meant that excessive drinking plays a key role in socialising and reinforcing peer group identity. Research has highlighted the United Kingdom (UK) as having elevated levels of alcohol consumption especially within the student population, and the role that drink promotions have in influencing consumption practices. This paper considers promotions of alcoholic drinks in UK nightlife venues and student perceptions of these promotions. Bourdieu's concepts of social and cultural capital are applied to the findings. METHOD: Content analysis of social media posts by nightlife venues (n = 12), observations of nightlife venues (n = 20) and semi-structured focus groups and paired interviews with 32 undergraduate students, from one city in the North West of England. RESULTS: Nightlife venues target promotions of alcoholic drinks at students through social media, advertisements throughout nightlife venues, and by promoters outside of venues. These promotions will often influence the course of a night out in terms of venues visited and the drinks consumed. Alcohol holds importance within mainstream student culture; it plays a key role in achieving cultural capital and is a means for students to obtain social capital through the creation of shared experiences, which are key for those who are new to university. CONCLUSIONS: Nightlife venues will target alcoholic drink promotions at students and will use the notion of creating a shared experience as part of this targeted promotion. This contributes to the overall social and cultural capital that alcohol holds within the student population. This is an important consideration for alcohol policy - it demonstrates how prevention activities need to take into consideration the importance of shared experiences for the students; alternatives to excessive alcohol consumption need to offer a similar opportunity.

Designing drunkenness: How pubs, bars and nightclubs increase alcohol sales.

Using ethnographic data, this paper investigates the techniques used inside pubs, bars and nightclubs to solicit and sustain alcohol consumption among patrons. Focus is on venues with the majority of patrons belonging to the age group of approximately 15-35 years. The paper identifies a number of techniques, both overt and covert, including: alcohol advertising; special offers (e.g. 'Happy Hours' and 'all you can drink' specials); bartenders' use of strategic intimacy, flirtation, and encouragements to buy more; speed drinking devices (e.g. shot glasses, 'beer bongs' and large pitchers); and architectural features that hamper moderate drinking while accelerating the purchase and intake of alcohol. These techniques were used most extensively in low-priced venues with the youngest patrons (e.g. themed chain pubs) and less so in more expensive venues with more adult patrons (e.g. craft beer bars). The paper argues that youth-oriented drinking venues may be conceived as staged atmospheres of consumption where individuals are seduced and compelled into purchasing alcohol. A team of 12 researchers collected the data through interviews and observations in pubs, bars and nightclubs in four cities across Denmark.

Investigating and validating methods of monitoring foot-traffic in night-time entertainment precincts in Australia.

BACKGROUND: Assaults occur frequently in night-time entertainment precincts (NEPs), with rates typically reported using estimated resident population. However, this form of reporting does not accurately represent the number of people within the NEP at the time of an assault or potential fluctuations in density throughout the course of the night. As such, the aim of this study was to assess multiple methods of obtaining an accurate estimate of hourly foot-traffic within NEPs. METHODS: The validity and reliability of three types of foot traffic counters were assessed. A passive-infrared sensor and two different types of smartphone sensor were installed at two sites in Australia from 2016 to 2018, ongoing (pilot phase: 2016-2017; validation phase: 2018). Researchers also manually counted the number of people walking past through the range of two of these sensors across the course of Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights between 8 pm to 2am. RESULTS: Results show a similar trend between the smartphone counts, the sensor counts, and the manual counts; however there was notable variability (43%-267% compared with manual counts). Analysis showed that all measures were significantly positively correlated. CONCLUSION: Reliable counting of the number of people attending nightlife precincts is an important element of ongoing studies into nightlife settings and associated rates of harm. There are multiple methods of estimating fluctuations in foot traffic within a NEP, however, determining the most appropriate method to use requires consideration of the proximity of pathways in the area, budget constraints, and project aims. Of the methods tested, laptop WiFi traffic monitoring programs functioned the least consistently. Specifically designed smartphone sensors overcame this issue; however, they required dedicated power sources. The current study found infrared scanners appeared to be the most accurate across sites; additionally they functioned consistently, and were the simplest method to setup and maintain.

Boozy Nights and Violent Fights: Perceptions of Environmental Cues to Violence and Crime in Licensed Venues.

This article examines perceptions of environmental cues to crime, violence, and injuries in barroom settings, and how they differ between bar fight participants and non-participants. Bouncer friendliness, patron sex composition, and room temperature were chosen as experimental variables based on three criteria: (a) emerged as a theme in bar user focus groups, (b) unclear effects in the literature, and (c) policy relevant and easy to modify. These experimental variables were manipulated in written vignettes set in a bar. A three-part online questionnaire recorded 681 male university students' responses to questions on demographics, the experiment, drinking and clubbing habits, and the Snell Masculinity Scale. A 2 × 2 × 2 randomized independent groups factorial design with covariates was embedded in the questionnaire, measuring the effects of the experimental variables on bar users' perceived fear of victimization, likelihood and frequency of crime, venue preference, and perceived severity of injuries after accounting for prior bar fight participation and masculinity. Participants generally rated perceived fear of victimization, likelihood and frequency of crime, and severity of injuries to be highest when the bouncer was unfriendly, the temperature was hot, and patrons were majority male. Only main effects were significant ( p < .01). Masculinity scale responses were not related to participant perceptions. While fight participants (9.8% of the sample) and non-participants had similar perceptions of the risk associated with certain environmental cues, fight participants were significantly (a) less fearful of victimization in settings they perceived as dangerous and (b) more willing to drink in any hypothetical venue.

Late night environments: Bar "morphing" increases risky alcohol sales in on-premise outlets.

Niche theory proposes that in areas of high alcohol availability, alcohol sales outlets will compete for patrons by diversifying their operating characteristics to provide a diversity of drinking contexts. We aimed to characterize features of outlet operations which contribute to increased risk for alcohol problems across communities. We conducted ethnographic observations in 97 on-premise outlets across 6 California cities and interviewed staff and patrons in a subsample of these. We observed outlet managers deliberately altering the environments in 17.5% of establishments. These modifications aimed to increase bar/nightclub effects, enabling venues to "morph" (i.e., alter operating conditions from restaurant to bar, or from bar to club) and display environmental characteristics associated with over-service and alcohol-related problems (e.g., more young male patrons, crowding, and dancing). Late night morphing was observed in some outlets in most cities and included outlets operating with restaurant licenses. Staff and patrons identified morphing as a strategy to increase alcohol sales in late night hours. Competition for late night customers may encourage business practices that increase the number of alcohol sales establishments operating under risky circumstances. Community alcohol policies and practices should attend to the potential expansion of risky alcohol sales niches in night time economies.

Lessons from Queensland's last-drinks legislation: The use of extended trading permits.

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: The association between alcohol availability, alcohol consumption and, in turn, alcohol-related harms is well established. Policies to reduce alcohol-related harms focus on limiting accessibility through the regulation of the liquor industry, including trading hours. On 1 July 2016, the Queensland Government introduced legislation to reduce ordinary liquor trading hours, replacing 5 am closing times with 3 am cessation of liquor sales in designated entertainment precincts and 2 am cessation of sales across the rest of the state. However, the amendment was under-inclusive and did not apply to temporary extended trading permits, a provision of the Liquor Act 1992 allowing one-off variations in trading hours for special events. DESIGN AND METHODS: We use 24 months of data (1 January 2015 to 31 December 2016) from the Office of Liquor Gaming and Regulation to explore patterns of extended trading permit use across Queensland, pre- and post- 1 July 2016. RESULTS: We find that following the Amendment in 2016 there was also a distinct shift in the utilisation of temporary extended trading permits, with a 63% increase in approved permits between 2015 and 2016. Temporal clustering around key calendar events dissipated following 1 July 2016 with consistent concentration of permit utilisation over consecutive weeks. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Using temporary extended trading permits venue owners avoided earlier closing times and continued to operate until 5 am. The findings provide lessons for future policy implementation by illustrating the capacity for under-inclusive legislation to result in the dilution of intended effects.

The pleasures of drunken one-night stands: Assemblage theory and narrative environments.

BACKGROUND: In this study, we use assemblage theory to investigate the link between alcohol use and one-night stands. METHODS: The data come from qualitative interviews conducted with 104 young participants in the night-time economy. RESULTS: We show that: (i) alcohol-fuelled sexual explorations (e.g. erotic fantasizing, flirting and sex) are of paramount importance for young partygoers; (ii) sexualized territories (e.g. private parties, rural feasts and the backseat of cars) significantly shape the experience and performance of one-night stands; and (iii) contrary to previous research, one-night stands are to a large degree associated with pleasure-the immediate pleasure of having sex and the long-term pleasure of telling about it to others. CONCLUSION: We argue that drunken one-night stands are part and parcel of a drinking culture that places high value on sexual encounters and personal sex stories.