When it comes to ensuring women and girls feel safer in our communities, society as a whole has a collective responsibility.
However, it's still important that we take personal measures to maximise our safety. These can include:
- Planning your journey
- Telling people when you expect to be home and update them if plans change
- Travelling with friends
- If travelling by taxi check your ride is licensed and legitimate
- Always arranging lifts and taxi pick ups in well lit areas where you know people will be around
- Leave enough phone charge for the end of the night
- Use 101 to report any inappropriate behaviour that may be unsettling you.
Why plan your journey?
Planning your journey to and from the nightspot may seem basic, but we’ve all been in situations in the early hours when having a plan B for how you’re getting home has come in handy.
If you’re ever unsure about how you might be able to get home you can speak to bar and security staff or our town centre safety marshals in Wigan, Leigh and Atherton for advice.
Ask for help
If you need to ask for help without alerting someone you’re with you can "Ask for Angela" at the bar and staff will know that you need assistance. Make sure to look out for stickers in venues and badges on staff who have had our special WAVE training.
You can also use the Strut Safe hotline (external link), a free service allowing you to call a volunteer adviser if you’re feeling uneasy on your journey home at night. The advisor will carry on chatting to you until you reach your destination safely and will ring local services to come and help you if you need it. Just call 0333 335 0026, lines are open Friday-Sunday, 7pm-3am. Make sure to save this number in your phone so you have it handy when you need it.
Get Home Safe
When travelling by private hire or hackney carriage always remember to stay S.A.F.E.
Share your location with friends and try to stay in a group
Always plan your journey home by pre-booking a licensed private hire
Find our town centre safety marshals located around the area if you feel unsafe
Every licensed private hire and hackney carriage must display their license on the back of the vehicle - look out for this before entering
How to identify a hackney carriage
- Hackney carriages can be found at taxi ranks, be flagged down and pre-booked
- Hackney carriages also display a ‘For Hire’ illuminated sign
- A licensed hackney carriage must always display a Wigan Council license plate on the back of the vehicle.
How to identify a private hire
- Private hire vehicles can only be pre-booked through a licensed private hire operator; these vehicles cannot be flagged down
- Private hire vehicles also display Wigan Council door signs stating they are ‘licensed for pre-booked journeys only’
- A licensed private hire must always display a Wigan Council license plate on the back of the vehicle.
Further resources