A bevy of bars and other hospitality venues have signed up to the Red Light initiative, launched late last year.
It works like this: if someone is out on the town and is feeling unsafe, they can approach staff and ask for a Red Light drink.
Staff will then help them get out of the situation, whether that be by getting them a ride home, or calling a friend or police.
The initiative was launched by a group of Otago Polytechnic students as part of a health and wellbeing course.
Since it launched, she was aware of people having used it in bars.
"Dunedin’s a big drinking and drug culture. I’ve had many things happen to me myself, and there’s just a huge gap with not having a safe way to help," she said.
A wide range of venues have come on board, including Stuart St Mac’s Brew Bar in the Octagon.
Co-owner Mark Fraser said it was important for people to feel safe when they were out and about in town.
"Everybody wants to go and have a good time, and if we’re not creating an environment where people feel safe, then we’re going to have less customers.
"It’s an easy one for us."
And police were very supportive.
Alcohol harm prevention officer Constable Steven Jones said programmes such as Red Light gave people the security of knowing that if they were out and feeling unsafe, they had somewhere to turn.
