An Ipswich nightclub has been forced to remove a promotional picture from social media after campaigners claimed it appeared to condone sexual harassment.
Unit 17 in Cardinal Park posted a picture on its Facebook page on Sunday of celebrity Gary ‘Gaz’ Beadle from Geordie Shore with two female staff members to advertise an A-Level results party taking place at the nightspot.
In the photo, he appears to have his hands over their breasts.
The image was quickly removed by Unit 17 after members of Suffolk Feminist Society made contact with nightclub officials raising concerns about the message it was sending out to young people.
Unit 17 has now agreed to discuss working with the feminist society to run a ‘We Care’ campaign over the coming months, which has been piloted at other venues across the country and focuses on keeping party-goers safe on nights out.
Helen Taylor, founder of the Suffolk Feminist Society, said: “Our members were very concerned when they saw the promotion on Unit 17’s Facebook page. The issue wasn’t just that it caused us offence, it is that the advert was offensive.
“We are hopeful that working with Unit 17 and the Deltic Group on rolling out their ‘We Care’ initiative here in Ipswich, will help to combat the negative image that we think has been created.
“We are in the process of arranging a meeting to talk to them about making sure that a zero tolerance approach towards sexual assault and harassment is a key part of the training and promotion of ‘We Care’.
“Above all, we want young women to feel secure in the knowledge that they can visit Unit 17 and not feel vulnerable and that everyone knows it is not acceptable.”
Unit 17, run by Deltic Group, has said the image was posted on its Facebook page “in error” by a junior member of staff and the picture does not comply with the nightclub’s social media guidelines.
A spokeswoman for Unit 17 added: “We do not tolerate or condone sexual harassment of any kind and work hard to ensure that Unit 17 provides a safe and welcoming environment for all our guests.
“The Facebook post, which we have removed, was unacceptable and we apologise for any offence caused.
“We will be retraining our team on our social media policy, which states that posts of this nature should never be made.”
The Advertising Standards Authority’s (ASA) code of practice states that adverts should not use approaches that are likely to encourage socially irresponsible behaviour or cause serious widespread harm or offence.
A spokeswoman for ASA said: “We are always willing and ready to look in to adverts of this nature that consumers have a particular concern about. On this occasion we note you mention the ad in question has now been taken down so it seems unlikely any further action is required.”
Gary Beadle has been contacted for a comment.
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