Call it Out!
The Call it Out campaign focuses on highlighting unacceptable behaviour and encouraging everyone to call it out.
As part of this campaign, we will strive to stamp out this behaviour by taking a bold approach to public safety.
We also aim to make women and girls feel empowered to report this behaviour and feel reassured that appropriate action will be taken.
We want everyone to experience Wigan Borough’s night-time scene and feel excited about a return visit.
We have been able to implement various initiatives to help people feel and be safer when enjoying a night out.
Below are a range of support services available if you find yourself in a worrying or difficult situation while on a night out across the Wigan Borough.
‘Ask for Angela'
‘Ask for Angela’ is a simple, trusted way to ask for help.
If you are on a date that isn’t working out and you feel vulnerable and unsafe, or you just feel like something's not right, you can discreetly seek help by approaching venue staff and asking them for 'Angela'.
By asking for 'Angela' at the bar, or venue you are in, you can let staff know quickly, quietly and without fuss that you need help.
This code-phrase will indicate to staff that you require help with your situation and a trained member of staff will then look to support and assist you.
This might be through reuniting you with a friend, accompanying you to a taxi, or by calling venue security and/or the police.
Find out more about how it works on the Ask for Angela website (external link).
Safe Haven
The Safe Haven, located on King Street in Wigan town centre, provides a safe space for anyone who needs help during a night out.
It is open on Fridays from 9pm to 2am and Saturdays from 11pm to 5am, and trained safety marshals are on hand to offer help to those in times of need.
The facility provides access to phone chargers, advice on how to get home safely, welfare assistance, and a base for emergency service partners.
It is supported by King Street Regeneration Company, a social enterprise working with local businesses to enhance King Street and boost the local economy.
This fixed space is part of 100 other spaces located throughout the borough.
The Safe Places scheme includes registered venues who have agreed to offer help and support if someone is anxious, scared or believes they may be at risk when out and about.
Safety marshals
On Friday and Saturday nights our safety marshals will be out and about on the streets of Wigan, Leigh, and Atherton town centres, as well as in the Safe Haven on King Street, in Wigan.
They will provide guidance, information and reassurance to help you feel safe while you are enjoying a night out.
Their main purpose is to support anyone who is feeling anxious or worried about their safety during a night out, they are here to listen and help.
Their role also focuses on reducing crime, preventing breaches of public order, and deterring potential perpetrators of crime.
From time to time, they also undertake surveys to find out how they can improve services in the future.
Taxi marshals
On Saturday evenings between 11pm and 5am there will be taxi marshals in Wigan town centre assisting visitors and residents to get taxis safely at the Wallgate taxi rank, opposite Wigan Wallgate train station.
There are several taxi rank locations across the Wigan Borough, which are used only by hackney carriage drivers and vehicles licensed by Wigan Council.