Credit: Ali Sahib, Chronicle.lu

On Monday 6 July 2026, Ask for Angela Luxembourg Asbl officially launched its nationwide safety initiative at Caribou Karaoke in Luxembourg-Ville, introducing a scheme that aims to help people discreetly seek assistance if they feel unsafe in participating venues.

The event brought together representatives of the hospitality sector, public authorities, associations, influencers and the British Ambassador to Luxembourg Joanne Olivier.

Originally created in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2016, Ask for Angela enables anyone feeling threatened, harassed or uncomfortable to discreetly ask venue staff whether "Angela" is working. The phrase alerts trained staff that the person needs assistance, allowing them to move them to a safe space and discuss what support is required, explained the association.

Opening the event, Terri Allington, President of Ask for Angela Luxembourg, described this newly introduced scheme as "a discreet and easy way to get help" in bars, restaurants and nightclubs, adding that it is "not a secret word" but rather "an easy code word" that removes the need for someone to explain their situation in a busy, often loud venue.

She noted that participating venues display posters in all toilets, not only women's facilities, recognising that men can also experience harassment and abuse while signalling that such behaviour will not be tolerated. She added that Luxembourg's posters are equipped with Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, allowing visitors to access multilingual information by tapping them with their smartphones.

Terri Allington then explained what motivated her to bring the initiative to Luxembourg. "I started Ask for Angela in Luxembourg because, visiting the UK, I see the posters more and more often and I wish there was something like this when I was younger," she said.

Explaining how venues can participate, she said the process had been designed to minimise the workload for hospitality businesses. Managers complete an online registration form before staff undertake free online training, divided into one-minute modules and taking around fifteen to 20 minutes in total.

She added that nearly 200 people, including hospitality staff and Luxembourg Pride volunteers, had already completed the training within the initiative's first three months, describing the figure as "mind-blowing".

Travelling from the UK, Ask for Angela creator Hayley Crawford also attended the launch. She explained that she developed the initiative after recognising that many people experiencing sexual violence were not seeking help.

"I realised that actually there was a bit of a gap, that people weren't seeking support. What I wanted to do was put in a safety net in the venues where people were meeting for their dates," she said.

Hayley Crawford added that many hospitality venues had initially been reluctant to display the campaign's posters because they feared it suggested their premises were unsafe. However, their attitudes gradually changed.

Echoing the speakers before her, British Ambassador Olivier stressed that the initiative was about prevention rather than suggesting Luxembourg was unsafe. While describing the Grand Duchy as "lovely and safe and beautiful", she noted that "sadly no country is immune from the kind of problems that this sort of initiative is designed to address."

"We're talking about prevention. We're just talking about trying to create spaces where women feel safe," she said.

The evening concluded with a networking reception, during which attendees had the opportunity to learn more about the initiative and meet the volunteers behind the project.

The project's participating venues currently comprise:

  • Amore Pasta Club in Luxembourg-Ville;

  • Bazaar in Luxembourg-Ville;

  • Café Saga in Belval;

  • Caribou Karaoké in Luxembourg-Ville;

  • Kantin in Dudelange;

  • La Familia in Grevenmacher;

  • Liquid in Luxembourg-Grund;

  • Mamacita in Luxembourg-Ville;

  • Paname  in Luxembourg-Gare;

  • Urban Belval in Belval;

  • Urban City in Luxembourg-Ville.