Everything You Need To Know About Angel Shots

We’ve all been there.

You see a couple sat at the bar on a date and it is not going well. But only one party seems to have realised this.

You listen intently as the poor girl reels off excuse after excuse in an attempt to leave, only for her date to interpret these as mere hurdles and they continue to fall on deaf ears.

You might start thinking of ways to help without causing a scene and putting anybody in more danger. The bathroom window is too small for them to escape through, so that’s off the table. Calling security over will only draw more attention to the situation, and you’re trying to be discreet. And the bar is too busy for you to leave your station and take care of it yourself. 

You’re running out of ideas.

On top of everything, there’s even the possibility that you’re reading the whole situation wrong, but you can’t ask for risk of offending or embarrassing either one of your patrons.

Thankfully, there exists a system for such occasions, and it’s called the Angel shot.

• What is an angel shot?
• How can women discreetly order an angel shot?
• What are the different ways of implementing angel shots in your hospitality venue?
• Is the angel shot system effective?
• How to promote awareness of the angel shot system
• Are there any legal or liability issues that come with the angel shot system?

What is an Angel shot?

Put simply, an Angel shot is a codeword used to alert bar staff that you need some help. It came to the fore with the rise of online dating apps like Tinder, Bumble or Grindr, where the initial stages of courtship entered the digital realm and would-be predators were given an online persona to hide behind.

Once face-to-face, alarm bells start to ring and people (overwhelmingly women) needed a way to exit the situation in the safest means possible. 

It derives from an initiative rolled out within bars where women who feel like they’re at risk of sexual assault could ask the bar staff if Angela was working. The bar staff, understanding what this meant, would then arrange for an Uber or a taxi for the lady, and safe passage home.

This evolved into the Angel shot, bringing with it some vital options in the fight against sexual assaults.

How can women discreetly order an angel shot?

When asking for Angela (which is still a valid thing to do) became ordering an Angel shot, there became (as with normal drinks) some different options.

And whichever option you choose can inform the bar staff of exactly the level of danger you feel yourself in and tell them the right thing to do next.

With Angel shots, there are 3 main ways you can order one, each with a different code.

Neat

Ordering an Angel shot neat will inform the bar staff that you want to be escorted by security to your car.

With Ice

If you were planning on drinking and therefore left your car at home, you can order your Angel shot with ice and the bar staff will discreetly order you an Uber or a taxi, and make sure that you get there safely and alone.

With lime

This is reserved for the worst-case scenario, meaning that you have already become a victim of, or feel extremely likely to become a victim of sexual assault. Ordering an Angel shot with lime will inform the bar staff that they need to call the police.

What are the different ways of implementing Angel shots in your hospitality venue?

There are some very easy and effective ways to implement Angel shots in your hospitality venue.

The 1st step is to train your team.

Call a staff meeting and talk them through every aspect of both asking for Angela and Angel shots. Give them a few examples of what to look out for and ways in which to identify if somebody is in need of a shot.

As stated earlier, victims of sexual assault are overwhelmingly women, so advertise the Angel shot initiative in the lady’s toilets. Make the different ways of ordering Angel shots clear, and make it clear that the bar staff will understand what they mean and that everything will be handled with discretion and safety.

The same goes for your security team. Make sure there are protocols in place to handle both the victim and the aggressor.

Is the angel shot system effective?

This is a little harder to quantify.

The issue isn’t whether or not the angel shot system is effective, it’s that people don’t tend to report on things like that. There are no databases filled with statistics, ready and waiting to be pulled for pieces such as this.

We can only speculate on the angel shot system’s effectiveness, run it through a pros and cons list and explore the likelihoods.

Whether it’s effective or not, one thing is for sure: sexual assault can’t be remedied with a code word. It’s a community effort, a grass-roots conversation about correct behaviour and respect towards one another with the goal of having everybody on the same side and pulling in the right direction together, towards creating a safer environment.

There’s also the feeling that systems such as the angel shot system put the burden of responsibility onto the victim to avoid being assaulted, rather than holding predators responsible.

How to promote awareness of the angel shot system

Promoting the angel shot system is something that needs to be approached delicately. 

You need to ensure that the promotion gets in front of the right people, while at the same time remaining out of view of the wrong people.

As mentioned earlier, this initiative is primarily aimed at protecting women from sexual assault, so a logical (and so far, popular) place to promote it would be the female bathroom. Posters with easy-to-follow guidelines are a good start, letting patrons know not only that the system exists, but also how to implement it.

Social media is also a good option.

Depending on how many followers you have, it’s a very easy way of getting vital information in front of a relevant audience.

And whilst it might fly in the face of my earlier point (the bit about keeping it out of view of the wrong people), that could end up being a strength after all. If a potential predator sees that your venue operates an angel shot system, they might be deterred from visiting in the first place.

Are there any legal or liability issues that come with the angel shot system?

As long as your bar staff and security team treat everybody with respect, there shouldn’t be any legal or liability issues with the angel shot system.

At its core, the angel shot system is based around discretion and, if everything is conducted with that in mind, the predator should be unaware anything has happened until they notice that their target has disappeared, or they’re escorted off the premises either by security or the police.

If you or somebody you know has fallen victim to sexual assault, visit 1800respect for support and information.