EXCLUSIVE: British Embassy scheme ‘Ask for Angela’ helps vulnerable women while out and about in Spain

THE British Embassy in Spain has announced plans to trial a scheme to help vulnerable or abused women while they are out and about.

The ‘Ask for Angela’ initiative, which began in Lincolnshire before being adopted across Britain, sees hotels, bars and restaurants signed up to the scheme offer free assistance to any woman who feels at risk.

Victims simply ask staff for Angela; signalling that they feel in danger.  Workers will then either call the police, or a taxi, or help women out of the premises via a back route, depending on the situation.

The British Embassy in Spain has now announced it will pilot the scheme in Spain to see whether it could also help victims here.

British Consul Charmaine Arbouin said: “Ask for Angela is a simple, but effective way of helping to prevent and reduce sexual harassment, violence, and vulnerability, and we are very keen to see how it might work here.

“We are in the early stages of development and our aim is to start small with a pilot in a few pubs in Marbella.

“Sexual violence may not be a huge problem here in Andalucia, but one case of abuse is one too many.

“We hope that Asking for Angela can help assist in wider prevention efforts.”