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The city of Amsterdam has asked British men to “stay away” if they're looking for a messy night out.

As part of a long-term project to change the city’s image, Amsterdam’s council has created an advertisement video that shows footage of a British man being arrested on the street for antisocial behaviour and sitting in a cell with the warning that tourists will face a criminal record or fines of €140 for “getting trashed”.

The online campaign is targeted at British men aged between 18 and 35, and will be triggered from this week when UK Internet users search for terms like “pub crawl Amsterdam", "stag party Amsterdam” and “cheap hotel Amsterdam”, to deter those who are looking to drink heavily and participate in (tiresome) British lad culture on the city’s streets.

Research by the city’s council found that young British men are part of the demographic that tend to get into the most trouble in the city's red light district, with the influence of booze and drug-fuelled anti-social behaviour impacting the lives of locals.

These findings should be a wake up call, a call to arms in fact. It’s time to stop considering this behaviour to be “normal” or part of British culture, and face up to how many groups of people it threatens.

The “lad culture” – defined by the NUS as often consisting of heavy alcohol consumption, as well as sexist, misogynistic, racist or homophobic behaviour – that is considered normal in the UK doesn’t just negatively impact Amsterdam’s locals.

Who hasn’t felt intimated or unsafe by the misogynistic behaviour of large groups of drunk, adult men on a night out? Whether you're walking home alone or are partying near them, the risk and the danger that comes with proximity to these “lads” is prevalent.

“‘Lad culture’ is often used to mask behaviour that is misogynistic and harmful and can constitute forms of violence against women, like sexual harassment and inappropriate touching,” Deniz Uğur, Deputy Director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, explains.

“This behaviour has a direct impact on how safe women feel, and the invisible safety work we have to do when navigating everyday public spaces,” she adds.

At a time where male behaviour is considered to be dangerous and threatening, other groups are afraid to leave the house. ONS research found that 49% of women reported feeling unsafe walking alone after nightfall in a busy public place. During the World Cup – a time of peak “lad culture” behaviour – women “prepared" for increased domestic violence, after research found that incidents increased by 38% when the England men’s team lost football matches.

A 2017 report found that women were suffering from a "lad culture” that fuels violence, misogyny and the gender pay gap. And seeing as international cities are calling this problem out in the UK in 2023, it doesn’t seem like much – or enough – has changed.

Critics have found fault in the rather extreme messaging in Amsterdam city council’s approach. They have asked, why couldn’t they have opted to encourage positive behaviour, instead of targeting a certain demographic’s behaviour? On his show this morning, Jeremy Vine has accused this messaging to be “against” British men.

The truth is this: the “lad culture” behaviour from young British men as a group is affecting others, and its impact is not being taken seriously enough until now.

Both the state of British drinking culture and the normalisation of threatening behaviour by men are linked to, and are direct symptoms of, the fear that female-identifying people and other groups feel when it comes to their safety.

So we should be careful to not make this campaign against the damaging behaviour of British “lads” abroad something that makes these men into victims. In fact, the onus is on this group to recognise the damage that lad culture does, and make moves to remedy it.

“Rather than egging each other on, we need to see more men and boys calling each other out and intervening when they see unacceptable behaviour,” Deniz says.

Further to that, we should be thinking of ways to combat and move on from British lad culture and its insidious, patriarchal impacts. For the sake of the safety of all.

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