Bartenders Against Sexual Harassment event raising money, awareness for bartender training

With a new job and a new city on the horizon, Toronto bartender Veronica Saye wanted to have one final downtown bash to say goodbye.

Now, it's become a BASH instead — an event called Bartenders Against Sexual Harassment, raising money and awareness about sexual harassment and assault in the Toronto bar scene.

Happening on Monday night at Parts & Labour on Queen Street West, the event will feature more than a dozen female bartenders, whipping up signature cocktails.

All tips, raffle proceeds, and a portion of the bar proceeds are going to the Sexual Assault Action Coalition's Dandelion Project — a peer-based community project that aims to train bars and restaurants around sexual assault, anti-harassment policies and procedures.

"It's been incredibly humbling to see how much the bartending community has stepped up and reached out," says Saye.

A party with a purpose

An outgoing bartender at Toronto's Bar Begonia, Saye is heading to St. John's, Nfld. in February for a new job, and reached out to the SAAC to see if her going-away party could have a bigger purpose.

​"It's been on a lot of bartending professionals' minds, an awareness of something that needs to change," she says.

Her desire to help out was partially fuelled by her 12 years of experience in Toronto's bar scene and a realization that there's a lack of sexual assault training for bartenders.

It was also sparked by the headline-making alleged sexual assault and confinement of a 24-year-old woman inside a Little Italy bar back in December, she says.

Hoping for a 'culture shift'

Jenna Davies, a bartender and co-founder of the SAAC, says there needs to be awareness and training about sexual assault and harassment issues.

It's an issue she's also seen first-hand, with her own staff at Toronto bars not knowing how to handle tricky incidents.

"I've seen everything from regulars being rude... to staff-on-staff harassment and assault," she says.

The Dandelion Project's ultimate goal, Davies says, is to create training that can be used across the service industry on how to address sexual assault, harassment, and violence.

While it's still in the planning stages, the group hopes to roll out training programs in the spring.

"I'm hoping there's a culture shift," says Davies.