The pledge is designed to ensure people who feel unsafe or vulnerable while socialising can discreetly ask venue staff for help.
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JDW joins more than 3,000 venues now featured on the Ask for Angela national venue map.
Lewis Hinckley-Keens, security co-ordinator at JDW, said: “The safety and wellbeing of our customers, guests and employees is a responsibility we take extremely seriously.
“By signing the National Ask for Angela Official Pledge, we are strengthening our commitment to ensuring our pubs remain places where people can enjoy themselves with confidence.”
National rollout
Ask for Angela relaunched earlier this year with new branding and the introduction of its national venue pledge.
Signing the pledge is free, with venues given access to training, assets and one-to-one support to help implement the scheme.
Participating venues are also listed on the Ask for Angela map and receive official branding and ongoing updates.
The initiative is focused on tackling violence against women and girls, as well as providing support to anyone who feels vulnerable or unsafe in a public venue.
Ask for Angela chief executive Sylvia Oates said JDW’s involvement represented a significant step in increasing awareness of the scheme.
She said: “Ask for Angela exists to ensure that anyone feeling vulnerable or unsafe in a public space can access discreet support when they need it, and the backing of organisations such as JDW represents a significant step forward in making that support more visible and more widely available.”
Staff training
The scheme has previously urged pub and hospitality operators to ensure staff are properly trained on how to respond when a customer asks for Angela.
Oates said the expansion of the pledge demonstrated the role hospitality businesses could play in creating safer social spaces and supporting efforts to reduce violence against women and girls.
The Ask for Angela national venue map now includes more than 3,000 venues across the UK.
