The disturbing incident which sparked a mystery public apology from a popular Scarborough nightspot has been revealed, with one of the victims speaking out after she and her partner were sexually harassed.
The Blue Honey Band, which had played a gig at El Grotto on Friday night, revealed on its Instagram page that one of its members and her girlfriend were were allegedly subjected to a scary confrontation with a sleazy, drunk man.
Inflaming the situation further, the band member claims a security guard at the venue refused to throw the man out for his bad behaviour because he “didn’t touch my ass or my boobs”.
The incident has again tarnished Scarborough’s reputation as a safe night spot after a woman was allegedly raped in a toilet block, bikie brawls and street fighting.
Writing on the band’s Instagram page, the member said she and her girlfriend were seated at a table holding hands when a man came up to them and put his hand directly on theirs.
“I asked him if he was okay, he said ‘I’m more feminine than I am masculine, so come on ladies. I’m a lesbian too’ I responded asking what his problem was and to remove his hand off of us. He replied I like eating p***y, I’m just trying to spread love that’s what I do come on now’,” she wrote.
After telling him that it’s not OK to go around touching people without asking and telling him to leave them alone, the band member wrote that he continued to badger the couple and to try “initiate sexual behaviour”.
After raising the alarm about his inappropriate behaviour with a female staff member, the man was cut off from drinking because he appeared “extremely intoxicated”.
The man then came back to the couple and unleashed a foul-mouthed tirade, declaring: “I was just trying to be nice to you f***ing bitch”.
However, it was the response from a security guard, which particularly infuriated her.
Feeling unsafe, she went to leave the venue with her partner but saw that the man who had harassed them was still there, even after she had made the complaint.
She says she then approached the security guard to raise the issue.
“The security guard then proceeded to tell me that HE DID NOTHING WRONG and by law he cannot remove him from the venue because quote on quote ‘he didn’t touch my ass or my boobs’.”
She said while some of the staff had been helpful on the night, the guard should be fired over the way he handled the situation.
El Grotto posted a public apology for the incident on its Instagram page on Sunday, saying it was “deeply sorry”
“Inappropriate conduct is neither welcome nor tolerated and we are committed to ensuring El Grotto is a safe space for our guests.
“We take these matters very seriously and have commenced an investigation.”
Fellow musician Georga Raath, who identifies as a queer woman, said she felt sick that the Blue Honey band members and their friends felt they needed to leave the venue to feel safe following an event she had helped organise.
She also revealed her own partner had expressed discomfort at El Grotto in the past and did not want to play there again.
“I too need to acknowledge and take responsibility for the role I played in the events which transpired, having had my partner express her discomfort in the past and also having heard of and seen many many situations where other people have felt uncomfortable or unsafe and simply brushing it off as ‘just the Scarborough crowd’,” she wrote.
“This is in no way an acceptable mindset and it is certainly not alright that ‘the Scarborough crowd’ is even a thing, it should not be culturally okay or just generally accepted that any space could feel unsafe for any group of people.“
She acknowledged the cultural problems were not only an issue at El Grotto but Scarborough generally and urged all venues in the precinct to work together to make the area a safe space for all.
She urged El Grotto to meet with other venues to put together a plan to change Scarborough’s culture. Signs promoting patron safety were not enough.
“I have been in contact with the venue managers and owners and action is being taken toward creating and enforcing a safer space but it is also very much up to US to start building and spreading a culture and environment that we feel safe in and backing each other up and also holding each other accountable for the values we promote.”
When contacted on Sunday a duty manager at the venue told The West Australian no further comment would be made until an investigation was completed.
He said however it was not a police matter and was only an internal investigation.
El Grotto has been contacted for further comment.
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