A visually impaired woman who refused admission at a bar because she did not have a chaperone revealed how the establishment treated her in a series of scathing reviews.
Vanessa Ransley was recently in Adelaide, South Australia for a work conference and decided to visit the Horizons Cocktail Lounge within the coastal suburb of Glenelg on Saturday.
When she tried to order herself a drink, she claimed she had been told she was a “security risk” and subsequently couldn’t be served.
The 51-year-old, in a review on Yelp, said she had traveled all around the world and Australia and was never told she couldn’t be served due to her visual impairment.
She said she was “unfortunately” “unable to provide a review of this establishment” after “they refused to serve me because I’m visually impaired”, adding that she used a white cane.
“I even have never experienced anything like this before in my life or in my travels world wide and Australia,” Ms Ransley wrote.
“Clearly, I’m a security risk. Let me ask you, is anyone entering your facility unaccompanied a security risk? How does being blind affect my ability to move (beyond the plain)?”
She claimed to be as capable as another adult of creating decisions about whether or not she should drink.
“Am I an adult Australian citizen unable to determine if it’s protected for me to exit for a drink?
“I’m 51, I even have my very own house (even), I even have 2 degrees, but I am unable to drink here. Shame on you!”
Talking with Adelaide based advertiserMs Ransley said a male staff member initially asked if she was alone.
“He asked me if I used to be unaccompanied, which was confusing as I used to be traveling from Hobart alone, after which said I used to be a security risk,” she told the publication.
Earlier refusals were often due to the undeniable fact that her guide dog, which is an even sadder coincidence, had passed away only a few days earlier.
“It was really devastating. It dumped me, and I’m a pretty articulate, assertive person,” she said.
She shared the depressing experience on Facebook, where she was told she was “not allowed to have a drink at the Horizons bar without a ‘guardian’.”
“I even have two degrees, I’ve traveled the world and here in Glenelg Adelaide I am unable to have a cocktail without a chaperone since it’s dangerous. Anyone else can have a drink unaccompanied except me.
Others were equally upset and encouraged her to file a criticism with the Australian Human Rights Commission.
“Holy shit, this is completely ridiculous and I’m ashamed to say that is my place,” one person replied.
“Unfortunately, this happens all too often and since people do not like to make a fuss, these issues should not brought up and discussed in an open forum. Well done you stood up for yourself and forgot a member of staff was trained or retrained,” said one other.
News.com.au contacted Horizons Cocktail Lounge management for comment.