[ad_1]
Stay Music Change Weblog
Our newest submit is by Rosemary Lucy Hill, Senior Lecturer in Media and Widespread 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 right way to write a ‘safer areas’ coverage.
TL;DR: safer areas insurance policies are actually helpful; right here’s our Information on the right way to write one.
—
Proper now music venues are preventing for his or her lives. Slivers of hope in placing on gigs once more are tied in with serious about how to take action safely.
While we take into account viewers security from covid, different types of security must 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 is usually a distinctly unsafe expertise, resulting in long-term trauma, lack of neighborhood and lack of a musical life. For musicians it could possibly imply a reconsideration of profession decisions.
This second, then, presents a chance to mirror on how we’d enhance security when it comes to decreasing sexual violence and harassment, and selling equality in gig going.
My crew 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 superb at coping with violence, however others felt at sea when an incident occurred. They didn’t know the right way to reply for the perfect.
Safer areas insurance policies may be useful for employees in coping with sexual harassment and violence, particularly if employees have additionally obtained 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 right way to behave or the right way to get help if one thing goes unsuitable.
However for all that, we discovered numerous selection amongst current insurance policies: some lengthy, some brief, 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 needed to assist resolve this downside with a simple information to writing a coverage and a template to go together 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 guarantee that the information is sensible and a optimistic expertise for customers.
Our Information units out 5 steps to guide venue managers and their groups by a dialogue of what to place of their coverage and the right way to write it. That is in regards to the beliefs of the employees and what sort of venue they’re operating or wish to create. It asks about sensible measures already in place and what extra may very well be executed (and what help could be wanted to attain it).
Our analysis discovered that numerous safer areas insurance policies use fairly unfavorable language: they’re about what individuals shouldn’t be doing in a venue, not what they need to be doing (having enjoyable!). We suggest that insurance policies are framed in optimistic language. This encourages individuals 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 gang, moderately than pushing or touching individuals. 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 supplies and the way employees will reply if an incident of violence does happen. Sadly, incidents do occur even in venues with insurance policies – however realizing how greatest to take care of it could possibly scale back the trauma for these on the receiving finish.
The Information consists of hyperlinks to additional assets, corresponding to 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 must be enjoyable for everybody. Clear steering for audiences and help 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 suppose will discover it helpful. And when 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 Widespread Tradition, College of Huddersfield, UK; Twitter@rosemarylhill
[ad_2]
