St. John's bar says female customers in trouble can 'ask for Angela'

A St. John's bar has introduced a new policy to help women in trouble.

Inspired by similar measures popping up in bars in the United States and United Kingdom, Dooly's is letting its customers know that if they're being harassed or worried they may be assaulted, they can simply "ask for Angela."

"When you ask for Angela, we know that there's no Angela working here, therefore you're kind of in sort of trouble, you need some help, and we can discreetly ask you to come with us or get you a cab," said bartender Pascale Deland.

Deland said in her experience, more women have been in threatening situations than men so she wanted to get 'Ask for Angela' up right away, and is working on a similar concept for men. 

Dooly's has placed a poster in the women's washroom and has educated its staff on what to do if a customer asks for Angela.

The poster has been up since around Christmas. No one at Dooly's has asked for Angela yet, which Deland hopes means no one has needed to.

"If they don't need it, then that means it's good in this city and not so bad," she said.

Still, there were 365 sexual assaults reported to police in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2015 — with more going unreported.

Dooly's bartender Claire Hanley thinks the effort is a great idea because of how many people use dating apps and websites like Tinder and Plenty of Fish.

"People are meeting up with strangers that they don't actually know. So it's nice to know that you have a way to escape, and a code word so you're not just out there, obviously saying, 'Get me out of here!'" she said.

Hanley said she's been in a situation where she could have used such a policy.

"I managed to get my own way out of there, but it would have been nice to be able to just go to the restaurant staff where I had been at the time and say, 'I need help.'"