The New Way To Escape An Uncomfortable Date In The U.K.

Have you ever felt unsafe or uncomfortable on a date and wished the ground would swallow you up so you wouldn't have to concoct an excuse to leave (such as the old "family emergency" line)? Luckily, an ingenious new campaign has been created to save us from these unfortunate encounters. Lincolnshire Rape Crisis's #NoMore initiative encourages people on dates in bars and other social areas to ask staff to "speak to Angela" to get out of situations in which they feel upset or unsafe, reported The Independent. The phrase acts as a warning to staff that the person feels uncomfortable and they will then help to diffuse the situation and help them make a discrete exit.

“Are you on a date that isn’t working out? Is your Tinder or POF [Plenty of Fish] date not who they said they were on their profile? Do you feel like you’re not in a safe situation? Does it all feel a bit weird?," the campaign posters ask. “If you go to the bar and ask for ‘Angela’ the bar staff will know you need help getting out of your situation and will call you a taxi or help you out discreetly – without too much fuss.” The poster went viral on Twitter, gaining nearly 21,000 retweets so far, after a woman noticed it in the gender-neutral toilets of a Lincoln bar, The Independent reported. "I saw this in a toilet and thought it was important and should be a thing everywhere not just Lincolnshire," she wrote. Hayley Child, Substance Misuse and Sexual Violence & Abuse Strategy Coordinator for Lincolnshire County Council, said the #NoMore campaign, of which the 'Ask for Angela' posters are a part, "aims to promote a culture change in relation to sexual violence and abuse, promote services in Lincolnshire and empower victims to make a decision on whether to report incidents," she told The Independent. "Sexual abuse and violence is a national issue and all councils have a responsibility to tackle abuse," she added. “We have had a really positive response to the campaign, including thanks from victims of abuse for the work that's being done. The campaign has been supported by many professional partners in the county and we will be relaunching #NoMore in February to tie in with the National Sexual Violence and Abuse awareness week.” Indeed, the initiative has been welcomed by many on social media.

Would you 'Ask for Angela' during a distressing or difficult date? Judging from the number of dating stories we've heard, we've no doubt the code words could come in extremely handy.