News / The Crown
Venue responds to allegations raised by queer and trans nightlife event
Organisers of a queer event in Bristol have raised allegations of misconduct against a host venue.
The team behind Quaverz, a queer music party, have shared concerns of the Crown’s actions when dealing with queer and trans customers.
The Crown has responded that they are learning from working with queer event organisers like Quaverz in creating policies that will inform how the venue on All Saints Lane is run.
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On social media, Quaverz refer to the first event night they held at the Crown in June, saying they had to “overcome a lot obstacles” working with the venue and their security team.
In a statement, the Quaverz team wrote: “On the night there were several instances where situations had to be deescalated by our organisers involving the Crown SIA [security industry authority] team.
“The majority of their SIA team were either not wearing visible badges or had them on the inside of their arm so they could not be seen.
“They frequently touched and pushed customers in order to ensure the ‘free flow’ of movement.”
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The event organisers hired PHAT – a queer and femme security welfare collective – to help with the welfare aspect of the event alongside the Crown’s security team.
But there were claimed to be issues with the Crown’s security staff regarding their health and safety policy.
The organisers of Quaverz stated: “The Crown interrupted PHAT security looking after a customer who needed support.”
The organisers continued that they had welfare concerns when they “supported PHAT in attending to a customer, and helped them outside. However, no manager from the Crown had been briefed on what a harm reduction approach was, or how our welfare was operating.”
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In a statement on social media addressing the situation, the Crown said: “Behind the scenes over the last three months or so, our new management team have been working on putting together procedures, policies and management training packs to keep everyone safe while at the Crown.
“We have grown so quickly we have sadly proven that we have not been ready and prepared to keep up with the needs of our customers.”
In a statement to Bristol24/7, Marc Griffiths, owner of the Crown and Mother’s Ruin, added: “Putting on the event for Quaverz has actually helped us to develop our welfare policy especially with regards to welcoming queer and trans customers.
“Moving forward we will be working alongside the Good Night Out Campaign to help make our venue a safer space for everyone.”
The Quaverz organisers have noted how the Crown frequently hosts queer events, and are asking them to ensure they are safeguarding queer and trans customers. The Crown has now introduced gender neutral toilets in the venue to make it more inclusive.
In a statement to Bristol24/7, the organisers of Quaverz, said “We would like the Crown to adhere to our requests in reforming their practices as a venue, and to make sure they are up to date with Bristol Nightlife Guidance.
“This includes participating in PHAT Bristol’s Welfare and Harm reduction training. Cooperation in investigating SIA and management on shift during our event. And safeguarding protocols for trans and queer clientele and events.”
The Crown’s owner Marc Griffiths said that they are learning from the concerns raised – photo: Charlie Watts
Responding to the statement, Marc from the Crown, continued: “I hope that organisers like Quaverz can see from our social media statement, and the work we put in beforehand to making the venue work for hosting a queer event, that we are working to shape the venue into a space that welcomes everyone.
“In terms of training, we will be working with the Good Night Out Campaign to ensure we are training our staff to make the venue a safer space for everyone.
“In terms of investigating SIA, unfortunately due to policy we are unable to share the security badge numbers of our SIA staff, these can only be viewed as part of an official investigation. Even then it can’t be shared with Quaverz. It can only be shown to the police or other members of the SIA such as licensing officers.
“And to the final point, I hope that organisers can see the work we put in before the event to safeguard trans and queer clientele, including creating signs for gender neutral toilets. We’re really open, we understand mistakes have been made, we’re only human, but hopefully we can learn from this and move forward.”
The Crown has also outlined a series of policies to be posted on their website in the next few weeks which tackle anti-racism, LGBTQ+ inclusivity, anti-sexual assault and other issues. They are pursuing collaboration and are inviting people to help shape the venue’s policies moving forwards.
Andy Leake is reporting on the queer community as part of Bristol24/7’s community reporter scheme, a project which aims to tell stories from areas of Bristol traditionally under-served by the mainstream media
Main photo: Charlie Watts
Read next:
- Queer performance night aims to convey Pride’s roots of protest
- Performance night will celebrate and explore the trans experience
- A look inside Bristol’s blossoming ballroom scene
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