PINK HANDBAGS: A GIFT OF HEALTH AND SAFETY FOR VALENTINE’S DAY
February 13 2007
Valentine’s Day will see the launch of an innovative new campaign to help young women in Gloucester keep safe on a night out.
Pink handbag-style leaflets full of tips on how to avoid becoming the victim of crime and how to stay healthy while out on the town will be presented to women at clubs and students’ bars throughout the City.
Gloucester Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership has produced the A5 -sized pink ‘handbags’, which unfold to reveal comic strip-style advice on a girl’s night out theme, in response to concerns that increasing numbers of young women are putting their health and safety at risk by drinking heavily while out socialising.
Chairman of Gloucester CDRP, Derek Cross, said: "Women’s drinking is on the increase and Gloucester CDRP aims to promote a responsible attitude towards alcohol. We are hoping to raise awareness of the risks of consuming excess alcohol, including the potential dangers to young women and even the involvement in violent incidents."
The leaflet will be distributed through the Students’ Union at the University of Gloucestershire’s Oxstalls campus and at GLOSCAT’s Brunswick Campus and at nightclubs throughout the city. Steve Pyartt, Manager of Crackers Night Club, who represents the Licensed Victuallers’ Association on the CDRP’s Violent Crime Action Group said: "The LVA are delighted to help with this initiative. The pink handbag is an excellent idea and by giving them out at clubs on Valentine’s Day, we hope it will get the message across."
The Valentine’s Day campaign is a continuation of the previously successful CDRP Nightsafe campaign that targeted young males in an attempt to reduce alcohol-related violence. The pink handbags, which are to be distributed by the six CDRPs in the county, were first used by the West Lothian Drug Action Team.
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