As a Thirty – Something woman, I have seen plenty when out with the girls. I have also learnt my fair share of tips for staying safe on a girls night out. So today, I am sharing some of them. Read on to find out how I keep myself and my friends safe.
Tips For Staying Safe On A Girls Night Out
It was back in 1999 when I first started going out drinking. I was only 15 then, but looked much older. By the year 2000, I was out clubbing and partying almost every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night. Before long, I witnessed someone slipping something into another girl’s drink. From that moment onwards, I never EVER left my own (or my friend’s) drinks unattended.
Never Leave Drinks Unattended
Women never seem to go to the bathroom alone, when out with friends. So I (like so many other women) tried to go with a friend, whenever I needed to powder my nose. I was obsessed with making sure my drink was safe though, so if I was out with just one friend, we’d break the “go to the bathroom together” rule, in order to keep our drinks (and our table) safe.
Safe Word
My next piece of advice is to have a safe word which you share with friends and family members. If they ever phone or text you and drop the word into the conversation, you ask them if you can join them (to safely escort them home). Should they say yes, you go and meet them – no matter where they are. If they say no, you phone them back 5 minutes later with an “excuse” as to why they need to leave.
My friends and I always used the safe word Trifle. So you could say “I’m a trifle drunk” or such like. I’ve never had to use it myself, but did rescue my friend from a truly awful date, once. She text me saying, “I’m a trifle drunk – love you x” and then replied no when I asked if I could join her. So I rang her and said “Ben’s just thrown me out – please can I come to yours”?
She was so grateful, and was in a cab, escaping the date of doom within 5 minutes of my call. I’ve written before about staying safe when dating – so be sure to read that post too.
Emergency Funds And Keys
When I was 18, I was out with my sister, and my handbag was stolen. The club we were in was massive, and I couldn’t find her. My phone, door keys and purse were gone. I didn’t know her mobile number, so couldn’t even reverse the charges to her. We didn’t live together, and my parents were on holiday, so I was home alone.
In the end, I went to a local taxi rank and explained what had happened. I offered to give them my gold bracelet as a “deposit” until I could return with the fare the next day. They agreed. I was taken home and given a receipt with the information on about my bracelet. When I got home, I had to wake up the next door neighbour to get the spare key.
Now, I have a mini key safe in the garden, which has a spare set of keys and an emergency £20 note inside. I haven’t had to use the money yet, but have locked myself out more times than I care to admit, so it’s been money well spent.
Have A “Boyfriend” On Standby
If you’re in a nightclub with the girls, it’s inevitable you’ll get hit on sooner or later. 99% of the time, this was fine and you could brush off the chancers with “I’ve got a boyfriend, sorry“.
One time, in a taxi queue, a guy wouldn’t believe me, so I phoned my friend, “D”. We went to Drama class together, and he thankfully, he realised quickly that some improvisation was required, when I said “Hey babe. You’re on speaker phone. I’m in the queue now waiting for a taxi. The guy next to me doesn’t believe I have a boyfriend though – please can you just tell him I’m on my way to yours“. He replied with a quick, no nonsense… “Ok. Hey Dude. Sorry but she’s spoken for.”
After that, we both added each other to our phones with “babe” as the names, so we could “show” annoying pests that we were spoken for. I can imagine a couple of selfies would have the same effect now though.
So what about you? Have you got any tips for staying safe on a girls night out? Feel free to share them in the comments.
Finally, I”m linking this up to day 11 of Blogtober, as the prompt ” Girls just want to have fun fits nicely.
