<p>The safety of women customers in pubs and breweries has come under the scanner after a recent incident in which a woman was molested at a popular establishment on St Mark’s Road.</p>.<p>Though there have been such incidents in the past, “they are not frequent”, says Akshay Hakay Machindra, DCP central and Central Crime Branch, Crime-1.</p>.<p>Pub owners Metrolife spoke to shared that they have safety measures in place to deal with difficult situations. “Staff are trained to de-escalate tense or potentially unsafe situations,” shares Nikhil Menon, COO and co-founder, Mannheim Craft Brewery, Whitefield. Each section of the 1-acre establishment is monitored by a manager closely.</p>.Will consider 1 am deadline for Bengaluru pubs: D K Shivakumar.<p>“If a female customer finds herself in an uncomfortable spot, she can escalate the situation to a member of the service staff. Of course if it is between a couple, we cannot step in unless one of them asks us for help. But if we see that a woman is being roughed up, we don’t wait for her to call us,” he explains.</p>.<p>Toit, Indiranagar, has witnessed instances when some men have wanted to start conversations with or buy a woman a drink. In the case of the former, they are generally discouraged. Partner Mukesh Tolani says, “If a customer wants to buy a woman a drink, we first check with the woman if she is okay accepting it. If she is not, we tell the man to back off. Sometimes they don’t listen and we have had to ask them to leave.”</p>.<p>At Daysie, M G Road, the bartenders are trained to delay the order or discourage inebriated customers who are “visibly out of their senses”, shares Anirudh Kheny, managing partner. “Lone women who have had too many drinks around closing time are not sent home unless someone responsible shows up or one of their friends is dropping them home.” They note the phone numbers of the woman and the person accompanying her as an additional safety measure.</p>.<p>Vinay Chandrashekar, partner at Long Boat Brewing Co, Marathahalli, has noticed a pattern of men entering premises like his just to look at women. “We once found a man recording women customers and made him leave immediately” he shares.</p>.<p>“Women have become more aware and empowered reporting these instances. Earlier such things were normalised, or the women felt responsible. But additionally, there are more women stepping out and hence, the number of instances have also increased,” says Priya Varadarajan, founder, Durga, an NGO working for women’s safety.</p>.<p><strong>How to seek help</strong></p>.<p>Machindra says, if women find themselves in an unsafe situation, they can:</p>.<p>Press the panic button in the Bengaluru City Police mobile phone app.</p>.<p>Call the police helpline, 112. Alternatively, press the power button thrice on their phone, the call goes to 112.</p>.<p>Major junctions, such as the Lavelle Road–Vittal Mallya Road junction, have safety islands with SOS buttons that connect to women police officers.</p>
<p>The safety of women customers in pubs and breweries has come under the scanner after a recent incident in which a woman was molested at a popular establishment on St Mark’s Road.</p>.<p>Though there have been such incidents in the past, “they are not frequent”, says Akshay Hakay Machindra, DCP central and Central Crime Branch, Crime-1.</p>.<p>Pub owners Metrolife spoke to shared that they have safety measures in place to deal with difficult situations. “Staff are trained to de-escalate tense or potentially unsafe situations,” shares Nikhil Menon, COO and co-founder, Mannheim Craft Brewery, Whitefield. Each section of the 1-acre establishment is monitored by a manager closely.</p>.Will consider 1 am deadline for Bengaluru pubs: D K Shivakumar.<p>“If a female customer finds herself in an uncomfortable spot, she can escalate the situation to a member of the service staff. Of course if it is between a couple, we cannot step in unless one of them asks us for help. But if we see that a woman is being roughed up, we don’t wait for her to call us,” he explains.</p>.<p>Toit, Indiranagar, has witnessed instances when some men have wanted to start conversations with or buy a woman a drink. In the case of the former, they are generally discouraged. Partner Mukesh Tolani says, “If a customer wants to buy a woman a drink, we first check with the woman if she is okay accepting it. If she is not, we tell the man to back off. Sometimes they don’t listen and we have had to ask them to leave.”</p>.<p>At Daysie, M G Road, the bartenders are trained to delay the order or discourage inebriated customers who are “visibly out of their senses”, shares Anirudh Kheny, managing partner. “Lone women who have had too many drinks around closing time are not sent home unless someone responsible shows up or one of their friends is dropping them home.” They note the phone numbers of the woman and the person accompanying her as an additional safety measure.</p>.<p>Vinay Chandrashekar, partner at Long Boat Brewing Co, Marathahalli, has noticed a pattern of men entering premises like his just to look at women. “We once found a man recording women customers and made him leave immediately” he shares.</p>.<p>“Women have become more aware and empowered reporting these instances. Earlier such things were normalised, or the women felt responsible. But additionally, there are more women stepping out and hence, the number of instances have also increased,” says Priya Varadarajan, founder, Durga, an NGO working for women’s safety.</p>.<p><strong>How to seek help</strong></p>.<p>Machindra says, if women find themselves in an unsafe situation, they can:</p>.<p>Press the panic button in the Bengaluru City Police mobile phone app.</p>.<p>Call the police helpline, 112. Alternatively, press the power button thrice on their phone, the call goes to 112.</p>.<p>Major junctions, such as the Lavelle Road–Vittal Mallya Road junction, have safety islands with SOS buttons that connect to women police officers.</p>