Some Goa Bars Now Offer Code Words To Keep Women Safe

Some of the popular bars in Goa are now offering secret code words to women in order to encourage a safer nightlife in the state. In Western countries, this is a well-known drill in restaurants and pubs to make women feel more secure in uncomfortable situations. This initiative in Goa was the idea of Priyansha Mishra, a former product manager at Microsoft, who first saw a poster for a code word at a bar in Anjuna. She realised how these little things can make women feel so much safer and so, she read up about techniques like the ‘angel shot’ concept where if a patron asks for an angel shot at the bar, they’re secretly letting their bartender know that they don’t feel safe because of another guest’s behaviour or that the date they are on isn’t working out.

Bars like the Hideaway in Vagator have signed up to designate and train their staff in similar intervention techniques to make women feel safer. Anyone can approach the staff in bars and restaurants if they feel like they’re in danger and they will receive immediate help. Mishra has taken it upon herself to connect with local entrepreneurs and standardise this practice. She has identified 10 bars in Goa that will put up posters in women’s bathrooms where the code word and other necessary steps that should be taken next will be shared. Sharing the code words online will defeat the whole purpose of this movement, explains Mishra.

*Image used for representative purpose only.