Unit 1 has come under fire after their “intimidating” treatment of a female student on Tuesday evening. The female in question was sent out of the club on her own, and when queries were raised about her safety, bouncers responded with comments that sources branded as “victim blaming”. When a complaint was made over Facebook Messenger, the club responded the next day with a laughing react.
“The bouncers were very intimidating for no reason.”
– Friend of the girl
“Your bouncers endangered my friend by sending her out alone – and then by claiming if anything happens it’s her fault,” read the complaint. “That’s completely unacceptable, particularly to someone who has been in this exact situation and had that exact outcome – to then be told that it would be her fault is disgusting.”
Posting screenshots on Facebook, the complainant wrote: “For anyone going to Unit soon, might be nice to know they think women being afraid of being assaulted is a great joke. Also, they’re victim blaming b*******. Can’t imagine how any woman could feel safe there.”
Speaking exclusively to Exeposé, a female friend of the girl who witnessed the incident said: “It was absolutely horrible. I wasn’t even directly targeted and it made me feel very unsafe being there. The bouncers were very intimidating for no reason.
“Upon being told she could return, she was singled out and berated for having an ‘attitude’ when her comment was: ‘Are you going to make a girl walk home on her own?’
“It makes me feel unsafe to go on a night out in Exeter, and unsafe in general.”
– Friend of the girl
“When making complaints [in person] at the end of the night, we felt very minimised and disrespected. The male bouncers are of course within their rights to deny entry. However, isolating a girl from her friends and telling her she has to leave alone without the opportunity to find people to walk with for safety is disgusting.
“Ultimately their uncaring response brought up a lot of residual trauma. It makes me feel unsafe to go on a night out in Exeter, and unsafe in general.”
A spokesperson from Unit 1 said: “The safety of our customers is our number one priority and on this occasion we initially refused entry based on legitimate concerns for the customer’s wellbeing in terms of visible levels of intoxication. It was suggested the customer take time to have something to eat with her friends and try again later, which they did and were allowed entry into the venue.
“The safety of our customers is our number one priority…”
– Spokesperson, Unit 1 Exeter
“The laughing emoji was a genuine mistake, however, it does not reflect our professional standards and duty of care that we uphold at all times and we are taking steps, including retraining, to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”