Stay Music Change Weblog
Our newest submit is by Rosemary Lucy Hill, Senior Lecturer in Media and In style Tradition, College of Huddersfield. Right here she outlines analysis into sexual violence and harassment at gigs, and introduces the information that emerged from it about the way to write a ‘safer areas’ coverage.
TL;DR: safer areas insurance policies are actually helpful; right here’s our Information on the way to write one.
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Proper now music venues are preventing for his or her lives. Slivers of hope in placing on gigs once more are tied in with eager about how to take action safely.
While we contemplate viewers security from covid, different types of security have to be remembered. Violence and sexual harassment have been a pernicious a part of the gig expertise, particularly for ladies, for a few years. Going to a gig could be a distinctly unsafe expertise, resulting in long-term trauma, lack of neighborhood and lack of a musical life. For musicians it will probably imply a reconsideration of profession selections.
This second, then, presents a possibility to mirror on how we’d enhance security when it comes to lowering sexual violence and harassment, and selling equality in gig going.
My group and I’ve been researching the impacts of sexual violence at gigs, and what we will do to mitigate them. We found that some venues are excellent at coping with violence, however others felt at sea when an incident occurred. They didn’t know the way to reply for one of the best.
Safer areas insurance policies may be useful for workers in coping with sexual harassment and violence, particularly if employees have additionally acquired good coaching. Insurance policies can present consistency so everybody within the venue is on the identical web page. They’re good for audiences and musicians too, as they supply extra details about the way to behave or the way to get assist if one thing goes fallacious.
However for all that, we discovered lots of selection amongst present insurance policies: some lengthy, some quick, some advanced, some as distilled as ‘Don’t be a dick’ (as if everybody is aware of what ‘being a dick’ is). This implies it’s fairly patchy when it comes to how helpful insurance policies are, or how straightforward they’re to learn and perceive.
We additionally discovered that individuals who run venues are actually pushed for time. They may not really feel assured about writing a safer areas coverage. One of many venue managers we spoke to mentioned,
“I’m not the professional on rights and insurance policies, it’s not my factor. I’m actually good at operating issues easily and effectively, however writing isn’t [one of my strengths].”
We wished to assist resolve this downside with a simple information to writing a coverage and a template to go along with it. So we created the 5 Step Information to Writing a Safer Areas Coverage for Your Venue. We drew on our analysis and consulted with venue managers, promoters and anti-violence charities to ensure that the information is sensible and a optimistic expertise for customers.
Our Information units out 5 steps to steer venue managers and their groups by a dialogue of what to place of their coverage and the way to write it. That is in regards to the beliefs of the employees and what sort of venue they’re operating or need to create. It asks about sensible measures already in place and what extra could possibly be achieved (and what assist could be wanted to realize it).
Our analysis discovered that lots of safer areas insurance policies use fairly destructive language: they’re about what folks shouldn’t be doing in a venue, not what they need to be doing (having enjoyable!). We advocate that insurance policies are framed in optimistic language. This encourages folks to share within the values of the venue and to take constructive motion.
Our pattern coverage is explicitly framed on this optimistic language and units out clearly what viewers members can do to get pleasure from themselves safely and with out impinging on others’ enjoyable. For instance,
“Say ‘excuse me’ when shifting by the group, reasonably than pushing or touching folks. A few faucets on the shoulder could also be okay in the event that they haven’t heard you”
Additionally it is clear about what the venue offers and the way employees will reply if an incident of violence does happen. Sadly, incidents do occur even in venues with insurance policies – however figuring out how greatest to cope with it will probably cut back the trauma for these on the receiving finish.
The Information consists of hyperlinks to additional assets, reminiscent of anti-violence coaching organisation Good Evening Out Marketing campaign, and free entry to journal articles about our analysis.
We hope that the 5 Step Information to Writing a Safer Areas Coverage will show a invaluable device for venues and promoters as they foster security at gigs. It’s our philosophy that the gig expertise needs to be enjoyable for everybody. Clear steerage for audiences and assist from venues can promote that. We consider this as a ‘framework for enjoyable’ during which everybody’s freedom to have enjoyable is being supported, so long as it doesn’t impede another person’s enjoyment.
Please share the Information with venues and promoters that you just assume will discover it helpful. And should you use it and prefer it, please tell us! Twitter@musichealthy or r.l.hill@hud.ac.uk
References
Hill, R. L., Hesmondhalgh, D., & Megson, M. (2020). Sexual violence at reside music occasions: experiences, responses and prevention. Worldwide Journal of Cultural Research, 23(3), 368–384.
Hill, R. L., & Megson, M. (2020). In defence of safer areas: punk, privilege and safer areas insurance policies. Punk & Put up-Punk, 9(1), 59–76.
Rosemary Lucy Hill, Senior Lecturer in Media and In style Tradition, College of Huddersfield, UK; Twitter@rosemarylhill
