The Northern women fighting to keep you safe on a night out
First they created the Spike Report database, now they're launching a new Safe Place initiative to educate the night time economy sector on safeguarding.
When it comes to helping women feel safer on a night out, there’s no one better to ask than the women themselves – which is exactly what northerners Elysia O’Neill and Della Claydon are doing.
Following reports of a rise in drink and needle spikings last year, the Leeds-based duo and TheEgalitarian co-founders moved quickly to set up the Spike Report – a community-led database for women to detail not just when and where they were spiked, but the response of venues and the police too.
Within nine days, it had already gathered over 160 reports. Seven months down the line, that figure is now in the thousands with reports spanning the length and breadth of the country.
The site is regularly visited by women, with the goal being to keep them and their mates safe on a night out.
Explaining the reasoning behind the idea, Elysia told The Manc that only 1 in 10 people currently report being spiked to the police and that “there’s definitely a lack of empowerment and self-belief in terms of whether someone’s been spiked, whether anyone is going to believe them.”
“We set up the Spike Report to basically tackle the issue of how invisible spiking is as a problem […] and to essentially raise awareness of the fact that it is an issue, something that’s prevalent in society, ’cause it’s disputed by many large actors in the night time economy and the police themselves.”
Image: Impossible MCR
Based on the numbers self-reporting to their database, it certainly appears that survivors feel much more confident reporting to their peers instead of the police.
It’s a sad fact certainly not helped by the high-profile murder of Sarah Everard by a policeman last year, nor by the Met’s brutal treatment of the women who gathered to hold a peaceful vigil in her memory after the fact.
By recognising this erosion of trust in traditional reporting methods, The Egalitarian team has now amassed a unique and detailed data set into what, where, when, and how spiking incidents are occurring across the country.
They’ve also been running a questionnaire since October 2021, asking their community what they would like to see in terms of changes regarding the news, police, legal systems, what kind of policies and procedures they can implement.
Now, through their new Safe Place initiative, they’re planning to use this data to educate venues, authorities and night time economy workers on how to better safeguard people on a night out.
Explaining the desperate need for an attitude shift in the industry as a whole, Elysia said: “We’ve got a very detailed insight into how people in the night time economy and other authorities are handling spiking.
“We’re wanting to create partnerships with the night time economy venues particularly because that’s what us as an organisation and the community themselves think, that really the onus does lie with venues, rather than necessarily the police.
“We want staff to be educated on safeguarding, vulnerability, looking out for people that are vulnerable, but knowing how to look after someone who has been spiked or even voluntary intoxication.
“Whether it’s voluntary or involuntary, it doesn’t make them any safer when you kick them out of the club.
“We need everyone to be looking after the customers, and essentially what we’re looking for is for venues to show that they do acknowledge that they have a duty of care for customers inside their venues.”
Here in Manchester, data from the Spike Report shows that 60% of survivors rated the venue’s response poor to very poor, 20% said it was neither good nor bad and 20% said it was good to very good.
Of the 40% that also contacted the police, 25% said they found the response poor to very poor. 25% neither good nor bad, and 50% good to very good.
Image: Girls Night In Manchester
Read more:GirlsNightIn Manchester: women protest across the UK as needle spiking incidents increase
The conversation around better safeguarding on nights out first began to change following last October’s Girls Night In protests, which saw huge numbers stay at home to boycott nightclubs and many others take to the streets.
Meanwhile, across the city a number of venues moved to introduce drink covers, posters, and spiking tests, at a cost to themselves, to reassure customers and help them feel safer.
The mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham, joined the Manchester protest on the night, and later he and the Night Time Economy Advisor, Sacha Lord, met with students involved to discuss what more could be done to improve safety.
Girls Night In Manchester wrote on its Instagram following the meeting: “Andy and Sacha have committed to setting up an Anti-Spiking Partnership for the city region, where GMCA will partner with major venues to roll out anti-spiking tests which can detect seven different types of drugs and be used as evidence in court.
“In the meeting we also discussed other measures such as expanding Save Haven and volunteer schemes funded by GMCA such as the Village Angels that operate on Canal Street, and improving reporting in venues.
Image: Girls Night In Manchester
“We are hopeful that some tangible changes will come as a result of these meetings, but still remain to be convinced until they are in place.”
Seven months later, an anti-spiking partnership has been announced but for now no commitment has been made on rolling out anti-spiking tests at venues.
Revealing the partnership as part of the region’s new Night Time Economy Strategy, Andy Burnham acknowledged that there was ‘more to do’ regarding women and girls’ safety out and about at night time and that that Greater Manchester was now ‘pioneering a different conversation’.
He told hospitality leaders: “Sacha and I took a suggestion from students at the University of Manchester to bring through an anti-spiking partnership and you’ll see reference to that in the strategy being launched today.
Read more:Andy Burnham announces new anti-spiking partnership inspired by Manchester students
“We’d like to work with more of you to build out the idea of that, whether we can provide more testing on sites, so that we can protect people who fear they may have been a victim in that way.
“That’s an important thing that we can do and we look forward to working with more of you on that.”
The Egalitarian team, meanwhile, is also positive they can bring much-needed change to the sector – expressing a strong desire to work closely with local authorities, including Greater Manchester.
Elysia said: “I think once the word’s out and people like Andy Burnham are aware of the fact that we’re doing this, I think it becomes a lot easier for government funded services, which are struggling always and so underfunded, to know that this exists.
“It saves their time and their funding, it could be really helpful to the wider community in such a mutually beneficial way.”
The first new tenant of the old Debenhams department store on Market Street has been confirmed
Danny Jones
The first new resident of the Rylands Building on Market Street in central Manchester has been revealed, and it’s a foodie one.
Set to be the maiden opening inside the old Debenhams department store, which closed after more than three decades back in 2021, Rylands’ debut won’t be for another year or so, but it will soon welcome Mancs with an increasingly popular food hall operator making its way up north.
Simply called Market Place, the ever-growing brand is fast becoming a well-established name, with four venues in the capital already and a fifth coming soon.
Rylands will be their first location outside of London, and with 1,300 sqm of space at their disposal, Market Place Manchester is set to make a significant splash on the high street.
A look at Market Place Peckham.A rough idea of what the Manchester branch could look like.
Developers managed to green-light plans for the Grade II-listed building last November, sharing the first details and glimpses of their vision for the instantly recognisable city centre spot, including a whole new rooftop terrace.
Currently earmarked for a late 2026 launch, the former department store (previously Paulden’s) consisted of seven floors but is now set for a four-storey extension that promises to be a massive and varied retail, leisure and business destination that makes the most of the expansive structure.
Not to be confused with the famous John Rylands Library – a much older, more gothic, historic and hallowed hall over on Deansgate – this task of ‘revitalising a Manchester icon’, to quote property firm AM ALPHA, is a huge undertaking.
In charge of the redevelopment since 2023, the group have been outlining a pretty complete overhaul, with plans to convert the upper floors into premium office space, and the creation of a retail arcade at ground level, on which Market Place Manchester will sit.
This particular Manc corner was a bustling food, drink and shopping complex for the longest time, but has been derelict and covered up by boards for what feels like forever, with urban explorers even roaming the large, abandoned building.
Credit: Supplied
Now, though, the new long-term 15-year lease agreement will see the latest food hall kick off a new era for Rylands, delivering socially focused venues and the range of flavourful, vibrant choices of scran that Market Place have become known for.
With sites in St Paul’s, Vauxhall, Peckham, Harrow and soon Baker Street – as well as their eventual Manchester outpost, of course – the chain is getting bigger and better, meaning its arrival in the North West is an exciting one.
AM ALPHA manager Paul Hodgkiss said in an official statement: “Manchester is a city with a vibrant cultural scene – the perfect environment for forward-thinking concepts like Market Place Food Hall…
“The early commitment to Rylands is no coincidence: it reflects the strength of our strategic and forward-looking approach to development. We are not just creating high-quality space – we are setting new standards for urban mixed-use concepts. Interest from further prospective tenants is strong.”
It was only last week that Greater Manchester’s latest market hall, Campfield Studios, said hello to the general public and with House of Social also opening this summer, among several other similar projects, soon you won’t be able to move for more social hospitality scenes like this:
Manchester crowned one of the world’s best cities for music lovers
Emily Sergeant
Manchester has been crowned one of the world’s best cities for music lovers, even beating out New York along the way.
If there’s one thing Manchester is known and loved for over anything else, it’s music.
From Oasis and Joy Division, to Happy Mondays, The Smiths, The Stone Roses, The 1975, and even more modern-day acts, there’s no end to the amount of talented artists this city has produced or been home to over the years, all contributing to Manchester being one of the most prestigious music cities there is.
The city’s live music scene has always been thriving, and that continues right through to this very day, as you’ll see big-name musicians including Manchester as a destination in their UK tour schedules more often than not.
This summer is all set to be a sensational celebration of sound, as not only is an immersive art trail, Music for the Senses, taking over the city from this week, but this year’s annual Manchester Day will be music-themed too, marking one of the biggest years for Manchester music in a long time.
Manchester has been named one of the best cities in the world for music lovers / Credit: Manchester City Council | Eldhose Kuryian (via Unsplash)
Oh, and there’s also the small matter of Oasis reforming for a UK tour, including a run of gigs at Heaton Park this month.
So it’s no surprise that Manchester has been named one of the best cities in the world for music lovers, especially as the IFPI Global Music Report has revealed that the UK has the third largest music market globally – with the music industry’s contribution to the UK economy being £6.7 billion on average.
Taking this recent report into consideration, the experts over at SeatPick have collated data to uncover the best UK cities for music lovers, analysing factors such as the number of concerts, homegrown talents, music businesses, and the total number of music venues, to reveal each city’s overall music score out of 10.
Coming in at second place with a music scene score of 8.97/10 is Manchester.
2025 is all set to be a sensational summer of sound in our city / Credit: Supplied
“Manchester remains one of the UK’s most iconic music cities and with 1,204 concerts between 2025-2026, 116 live music venues, and 380 homegrown acts, the city’s live music offering is as strong as ever,” SeatPick said of its findings.
“2025 is shaping up to be a historic year for Manchester, with Oasis reuniting for the first time in over a decade, with a massive comeback show at Heaton Park – the very spot where they played their last hometown gig in 2009.”
While Manchester may have missed out on the UK’s top spot, with that title going to London, in the global rankings, our city has claimed an impressive sixth place, beating out New York’s influential music scene.
Liverpool and Leeds are two of the other northern cities in the UK’s top 10, taking fifth and sixth place respectively.
“Cities which have a larger number of music businesses are key in creating the perfect city for music fans, as this impacts the city’s cultural, economic, and social vibrancy,” explained Gilad Zilberman, who is the CEO of SeatPick.
“A thriving music scene within a city means it can provide more artistic expression, support a wider range of genres, and enrich the cultural landscape, as well as attracting creative talent.”