On Sunday, Pittsburgh Action Against Rape will launch two initiatives to mark the beginning of Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
At 2 p.m., the nonprofit will release a collaboration beer called “Monarch” at 11th Hour Brewing in Lawrenceville. The low-ABV West Coast style IPA will be canned and put in kegs for sale at 11th Hour as well as restaurants and beer distributors in Allegheny County throughout April.
“Sexual assault in the hospitality industry can be a hard subject to approach. We’re hoping this allows us to put ourselves on people’s radar in a more approachable way,” says Cory Hart, PAAR’s interim director of development and marketing.
On the same day, PAAR will re-launch its “Project Last Call,” a program designed to educate hospitality industry owners, management and staff on how to prevent and manage instances of sexual violence in the workplace.
“There are higher instances of sexual violence in this industry so we want to make sure we’re providing as many resources as we can,” Hart says.
Pittsburgh Action Against Rape, a 50-year-old nonprofit with a mission to “respond, educate and advocate to end sexual violence,” offers Project Last Call without cost to any interested hospitality industry operators. It begins with a foundational session with training on bystander intervention techniques and what to do when an employee or guest discloses an instance of sexual violence. PAAR’s resources extend to quarterly updates and extended, in-depth training for anyone who wants it.
“We want to make sure that people are able to identify unsafe behaviors and identify what sexual harassment is in terms of the service industry. When you see something or hear something, there are different ways to appropriately respond because every situation is different,” Hart says.
PAAR has already offered the refreshed version of Project Last Call – which launched in 2019 but was rolled back during the coronavirus pandemic – to several Allegheny County craft breweries in anticipation of the more extensive rollout of the program.
“There’s a lot of support in this industry to create change and create safe spaces,” Hart says.
Hal B. Klein: hklein@post-gazette.com, Twitter @halbklein and IG @halbklein.
First Published: March 29, 2023, 9:59 a.m.
