A St Albans founded anti-homophobic campaign has found national success as it catches the attention of hundreds of venues up and down the country.
The campaign, ‘Ask for Clive’, encourages pubs, bars, restaurants, cafés, gyms, sport clubs, and other entertainment establishments to display a rainbow sticker to indicate that staff will not tolerate homophobic or transphobic abuse to show solidarity against discrimination, in the fight against homophobia and transphobia.
Piloted in St Albans in March by St Albans district councillor Danny Clare, ‘Ask for Clive’ has been rolling out across the UK following its successful launch.
It has since been featured on BBC Breakfast news and ITV and has received enquiries from over 200 businesses around the country.
LGBTQ stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer or Questioning.
The initiative means that if a person from the LGBTQ community is experiencing discrimination, they can approach employees and ‘Ask for Clive’.
When agreeing to enter the scheme, managers pledge to ensure all staff are trained in how to properly respond to requests for Clive.
The name Clive was inspired by Clive Duffey, the organiser of Herts Pride, host of North Herts FM’s LGBT show, and a counsellor at a charity which provides affordable therapy for gay and bisexual men, the Terrence Higgins Trust.
Cllr Danny Clare said: “‘Ask for Clive’ is now in over 50 venues locally, including some of our most famous pubs and venues.
“We are also working with the Odyssey Cinema and look forward to confirming an exciting screening with them in September.
“We have some very big UK household names keen to join us and also lots of interest from across Europe and the USA.
“This campaign is about taking a stand to eradicate unacceptable behaviour and build a visible support network for everyone in the wider community.
“Ultimately, we don’t want anyone to ‘Ask for Clive’. We want our supporting venues to be inclusive and for everyone to feel safe.”
To find out more, search #AskForClive.
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