LGBTQIA+ safety on nights out: how to use Ask for Angela and Ask for Clive

Going out should not require a risk assessment, but for many LGBTQIA+ people it still does. A bar or club can look welcoming from the outside and still become uncomfortable, intimidating, or openly hostile once you are inside. Sometimes the problem is obvious. Sometimes it is the slow realisation that someone is watching you, following you, pressuring you, touching you, or turning a joke into harassment.

If that happens, it helps to know that some UK venues use simple code-phrase schemes to let you ask for help quickly and discreetly. Two names you may come across are Ask for Angela and Ask for Clive. They are not the same thing, but both are meant to make it easier to get support from venue staff.

If you want to check the schemes directly, you can read more on the official Ask for Angela website and the Ask for Clive / Pub Pride page.

What Ask for Angela means

Ask for Angela is a safety scheme used by participating venues and organisations. If you ask staff for "Angela", you are signalling that you feel unsafe, vulnerable, or need help without having to explain everything in public.

In practice, trained staff should understand that you need support and respond discreetly. Depending on the situation, that might mean:

• taking you to a safer space
• helping you reconnect with friends
• helping you leave without drawing attention
• calling security
• contacting the police if the situation is serious

The key point is that it is meant to be a quiet request for help, not a test you have to pass or a dramatic phrase that only applies in extreme emergencies.

You can also use the Ask for Angela venue map to see whether there is a participating venue listed near you.

What Ask for Clive means

Ask for Clive is an LGBTQ+ inclusion and anti-discrimination scheme. Participating venues usually display messaging that says everyone is welcome and discrimination will not be tolerated. Staff should be briefed on how to respond if somebody experiences or witnesses anti-LGBTQ+ abuse, harassment, or hate on the premises.

That means Ask for Clive is usually less about a generic personal safety codeword and more about letting LGBTQ+ people know:

• this venue says it supports LGBTQ+ customers
• staff should take reports of homophobia, biphobia, or transphobia seriously
• there should be a route to report abuse and get help from staff

In some venues, people are explicitly encouraged to "ask for Clive" if they see or experience abuse. In others, the visible sticker or poster is more of a signal that staff should intervene and support you if something happens.

The practical difference

If you want the short version:

• Ask for Angela usually means "I need discreet help right now."
• Ask for Clive usually means "This venue should respond if LGBTQ+ abuse or discrimination happens here."

There is overlap, but they are not interchangeable in every venue. The most important thing is not getting the wording perfect. The most important thing is getting help.

How to use these schemes in real life

If you start to feel unsafe in a bar or club, do not wait for the situation to become unmanageable. It is easier to get support early than after things escalate.

1. Look for signs that the venue supports the scheme

Posters, stickers, or notices are often placed near the entrance, toilets, or bar. If you notice Ask for Angela or Ask for Clive signage when you arrive, that gives you a clearer idea of what language staff are likely to understand.

If you do not see a sign, you can still ask staff for help directly.

2. Go to the bar, security, or another staff member

Pick the quickest safe route to a member of staff. If possible, choose someone stationary and clearly working, such as bar staff, door staff, or security.

3. Use the phrase the venue recognises, or speak plainly

Examples:

• "Can I ask for Angela?"
• "I need to ask for Clive."
• "I feel unsafe and I need help."
• "Someone is harassing me and I need to get away from them."

If the venue does not recognise the phrase immediately, switch to direct language. Clarity beats subtlety when you need support.

4. Say what you need next

Staff cannot read your mind. If you can, tell them what would help most:

• "Please help me get to my friends."
• "Please do not let that person come near me."
• "Can someone walk me to a taxi?"
• "I need somewhere private for a minute."
• "Please call security."
• "Please call the police."

5. Leave with a plan, not in a panic

If you are leaving the venue, try not to step straight outside alone if the person making you feel unsafe is nearby. Ask staff to help you wait somewhere secure, contact a friend, or arrange a taxi or escorted exit.

If you are being harassed

Harassment does not have to be physical before it counts. Repeated unwanted attention, invasive questions, deadnaming, anti-trans remarks, slurs, threats, touching, blocking your path, following you, or refusing to take no for an answer are all valid reasons to seek help.

You do not need to minimise it. You do not need to worry about seeming rude. If somebody is making you feel unsafe, that is enough.

If you are with a friend who seems uncomfortable

Sometimes the safest intervention is simple and immediate:

• check in directly: "Do you want to come with me?"
• offer a reason to move: "Come to the bar with me"
• help them get to staff
• stay with them while they ask for help
• tell staff what you observed if they are too shaken to explain

If your friend is in immediate danger, do not rely on a scheme alone. Get security involved fast and call 999.

If the venue does not seem to understand

Not every venue is trained well. Not every member of staff will respond properly. If the first person is dismissive:

• find another staff member
• ask for security or a manager
• say clearly: "I am unsafe and need help now"
• call a trusted friend
• call 999 if you are in immediate danger

For non-emergency police help in the UK, 101 can be used after the incident. If the incident is hate-related, say that clearly when you report it.

A few habits that make nights out safer

Schemes like these are useful, but they work best alongside basic planning:

• share your location or plans with someone you trust
• if you are using Uber or another ride app, consider sharing your trip details with a trusted friend
• if you are using a taxi or minicab, discreetly take a photo of the licence plate and send it to someone you trust
• know how you are getting home before the night gets messy
• keep your phone charged if you can
• trust the first warning sign rather than the fifth
• leave early if a venue starts to feel wrong

These are simple steps, but they create a record of where you were, who you were travelling with, and how you were getting home. If something escalates later, that information can make it much easier for somebody to help locate you or piece together what happened.

None of this removes responsibility from the person behaving badly. It just gives you more options if something goes wrong.

The bottom line

Ask for Angela and Ask for Clive both exist to reduce the amount of explaining you have to do in a stressful moment. One is a more general discreet request for help. The other is more specifically tied to LGBTQ+ inclusion and reporting discrimination. Both are only useful if staff respond properly, but they can still make it easier to ask for support when you need it.

If you remember one thing, make it this: you do not need to wait until a situation feels extreme before asking for help. Uncomfortable is enough. Unsafe is enough. Trust that instinct and get staff involved early.