Pub crawl company accused of ‘trivialising violence against women’

The event, organised by national company Carnage UK, comes to Sheffield on Monday, October 8 and involves a pub crawl around various city centre bars.

But Sheffield University students’ union women’s officer Amy Masson says she is “deeply disturbed” by an event which “appears to trivialise the issues of prostitution.”

Ms Masson said: “I feel that this theme utterly trivialises violence against women.

“This event is going ahead in the context of a city that has several red light districts and a number of projects aimed at supporting women out of prostitution.

“Although to serve the commercial objectives of this evening the organisers may seek to glamorise and idolise the role of the pimp, there is nothing glamorous and certainly nothing worthy of idolising about the profession of pimping.”

She added that the categorizing of women as “hoes” was “indicative of a disregard for women as a whole.”

Helen Francis, president at Sheffield Hallam University students’ union, said: “I am deeply concerned about the title and theme of the next Carnage in Sheffield.

“I feel it is irresponsible to glamorise the sex industry and demean the complex circumstances of vulnerable women in society.”

In a statement, Carnage UK said yesterday that Pimps and Hoes is a “common fancy dress theme” and added: “Varsity Leisure Group’s aim is to give students the opportunity to have a fun night out with other students from differing ethnic and social backgrounds.

“We strongly disagree that a fancy dress event such as ours in any way trivialises violence towards women.”

Carnage UK previously hit the headlines when, on one of its pub crawls in Sheffield three years ago, student Philip Laing urinated on the war memorial in Barkers Pool.

The Carnage spokesman added: “We are acutely aware of the need for events such as ours to be held responsibly and with safety as a paramount consideration.”