On a warm Tuesday night in September, cold beers in their hands, a group of bar and restaurant workers is listening to Chiko Hibino talk about a subject they often face on the job.
Hibino is leading a training at The Goat Brewing Co. in Lee’s Summit. He describes issues around power and control, testing personal boundaries, using alcohol as a tool to make someone vulnerable, isolating someone from their friends. The workers nod their heads, saying they’ve seen all that before.
Sexual assault is any activity without consent, says Hibino, coordinator of youth programs at Metropolitan Organization Countering Sexual Assault, or MOCSA. So how can waiters, waitresses and bartenders help prevent it?
“The question is not why will I step in but how will I step in, no matter what,” Hibino says.
The meeting was the first of 200 SAFE (Sexual Assault-Free Environment) trainings planned by MOCSA in the lead-up to the FIFA World Cup, set for Kansas City next June and July.
MOCSA is enlisting the support of the hospitality industry in hopes of preventing what happened during the 2023 NFL Draft in Kansas City, when the organization witnessed an increase in reports of sexual assaults, said Brandy Williams, MOCSA’s director of education.
“Lower-scale event, shorter-term event,” Williams said of the NFL Draft, “but we did notice an increase in hospital activations, which means there’s more sexual assault exams happening that we had to respond to.”
SAFE trainings at bars and restaurants are an expanded effort by MOCSA on bystander education, thanks to some new grants. The trainings suggest ways anyone can divert what they think may become a dangerous situation.
“The biggest takeaway is teaching people to notice things, to listen to their own guts, so to speak, and how they can help interrupt some of these cycles of violence that might be occurring,” Williams said.
'You need to be on the lookout'
SAFE-suggested interruptions include:
- Do or say something directly: “Is this person bothering you?” “Do you need help finding a ride?”
- Get others help: Find their friends. Get your manager or a coworker for support.
- Change the subject or create a distraction: “How’s everyone doing tonight?” “Is there anything I can get you?” “That was weird. Anyway….”
Jeremy Kneeland, Goat Brewery owner, already had MOCSA pamphlets placed in bathrooms as a protection for customers. He signed up — and invited six other local breweries — for the SAFE training to help his workers use the strategies as a precaution for keeping his customers safe, he said.
“Breweries are a little bit different of a scene than your bars and clubs are — it’s not quite as crazy and busy, but you still need to be on the lookout for what’s going on and be safe,” he said. “The more weapons you have in your pocket and the more aware you can be of those situations, your customers will have a better experience.”
Another concern for MOCSA trainers — and for police — is a temporary allowance for liquor to be sold for 23 hours a day during the World Cup. Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe signed into law a temporary extension of liquor sales, so bars and restaurants can serve alcohol from 6 a.m. to 5 a.m. during the month the city hosts the tournament.
“When I heard that, I got goosebumps because that sounds shocking to me, it feels dangerous,” Williams said. “We’re not trying to villainize alcohol. We’re trying to let people understand and know alcohol can be used as a tool to facilitate sexual violence.”
Or as Hibino said during his training: “Being harassed or assaulted is not a natural result of drinking.”
If you have questions related to sexual violence, MOCSA has trained staff and volunteers answering a 24-hour anonymous hotline. In Kansas: (913) 642-0233, in Missouri: (816) 531-0233.
