A Manchester student has called for a new safety scheme for people who feel unsafe on nights out.
A report on Manchester bars by Tyla found that staff were inconsistent with successfully helping people using the widely known “Ask for Angela” initiative.
The scheme launched almost ten years ago, allowing people who feel they’re in danger to ask bar staff for Angela as a sort of signal they need help.
Inge, a second year student at the University of Salford, told Quays News that on a recent date the man who she met up with made jokes about the scheme.
“He said I was acting weird” said Inge, “and he started calling out for Angela as a joke”.
Just last week, Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) released an updated “Good Night Out Guide” for the City Centre, which includes tips on how to handle unsafe situations when out.
The guide still encourages people to use “Ask for Angela”, however, there are growing concerns as to whether this is still an effective and reliable way to discreetly get help.
Scheme’s like this are designed with discreetness in mind, so when people are openly mocking it, and videos are circulating on the internet, mocking people “asking for Angela”, it begs the question: “is this still working?”.
In response to the Tyla report, the Ask for Angela team have made efforts to improve the consistency of the initiative, and say they have been successful with their results.
In May this year, Serve Legal found that people do find comfort in knowing the scheme is in place.
In March 2025, the BBC said 34 councils across the UK had made Ask for Angela a condition of granting new alcohol licences.
Greater Manchester Police have said that as part of their ‘Safer Streets Campaign’, which includes the patrol of undercover police on nights out, rape offences have halved from 2023 to 2025.