There's been some discussion at Jura about the need for a safer spaces policy. Many activist groups are using these policies in order to fight against sexism, racism and homophobia. As a start to the discussion, below is the safer spaces policy from the live and let DIY fest in Brisbane, for people to read and consider...

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LIVE AND LET DIY FEST

SAFER SPACES STATEMENT

The Safer Spaces Statement has been written by the Live & Let DIY Collective to take a positive, proactive, preventative step towards stopping sexual assault, sexual harassment and violence in all its forms. We are committed to creating a space that reflects the ideals of the festival - autonomous spaces that are supportive, respectful and free of harassment. As people who try to bring about change in the world, we recognize that our own personal behaviour needs to reflect this change. 

LLDIY is a DIY event – everyone who attends has a role in making the fest what it is. We want all people here to feel comfortable and free from the threat of violence, so we must work to make each other comfortable. That means having awareness around our individual actions and words, realising the impact we can have on others and having ownership over these actions. The point of the “guidelines” is not to be boring fun-stoppers, and we do not intend to micro-monitor people’s behaviour while they are at the fest. 

Everyone attending LLDIY is asked to take responsibility for their behaviour at all times, and also to help make the festival a comfortable, safe(r) space for everyone attending. 

PLEASE HAVE A READ THROUGH THESE POINTS AND CONSIDER THEM IN RELATION TO YOURSELF:

*Don’t presume you know someone’s gender, ethnicity, sexuality, beliefs etc.

*You need to take responsibility for any shit attitudes/phobias/etc that you might have eg.

sexism, racism, age-ism, able-ism, homophobia, fat-phobia, queer-phobia, transgender-phobia etc. You need to understand that if you display these prejudices at the festival, it will not be tolerated. 

*You may have specific contexts in which you use derogatory/disrespectful language where you consider it to be ok.  This context is not the festival.  You don’t know who will hear you, and what reaction they will have, and you will be expected to bear full responsibility for it.

*Pay attention to people’s body language. Look for things like: someone constantly turning away from you; avoiding eye contact; making excuses as to why they need to be away from you; not responding to your physical advances. Any of these can be possible signs that someone is telling you to back off/leave them alone – so pay attention and use good judgement and if in doubt ASK.

*Pay attention to boundaries. Different people have different boundaries when it comes to personal space and physical contact. Most of us want different things at different times, or different things from different people. Please do not make assumptions about other people’s comfort or desires.  Get verbal consent before touching people in a way that may be considered intimate

*If you know or have been told that you become violent or disrespectful under the influence of drugs or alcohol – take responsibility for that (ie. consider not using or limiting your use of drugs/alcohol while you’re at the fest)

*Violence is not tolerated at LLDIY - sexual assault, sexual harassment, threats, harassment, physical violence, bullying etc. Anyone engaging in this behaviour can be thrown out of the fest. The police may be called.

*Consider the privilege (from being older, an “established” member of the punk/activist/blah blah community, a certain gender/race/sexuality, etc) that you may have and how it may enable you to take up more space than others.  It’s your responsibility to make sure that your not taking up more than your fair share of space or devaluing/disregarding other peoples experiences or views.

*Making jokes about “safer spaces policies” can make it difficult for people who do experience problems at the fest, and who do want to use the mechanisms we have put in place.

IF YOU NEED ASSISTANCE

If you experience any behaviour that crosses your boundaries or makes you feel uncomfortable, or if you have a problem/issue with someone else, or if you feel unsafe - please come to the info-desk at the front of Ahimsa House (or the desk where you pay to get into gigs in the night) and ask to speak someone from the grievance committeee.  Members of the grievance committee will be wearing green armbands and will be at every major event.  Or please call: 0412 08 91 22 or 0412 31 95 23 or 0424 071 139 or 04 03 066 803. We can talk with you about what you want to do and give you assistance, help you sort things out, act on your behalf etc.

Brisbane Rape and Incest Survivors Support Centre (BRISCC) offers phone support, info and referral; individual support and counselling. Telephone 3391 0004; website: http://www.brissc.com.au/

WORKING PREVENTATIVELY

We want to work preventatively in terms of “safer spaces” – by having a “safer spaces statement”, by having a chill-out space, by offering safer accommodation arrangements to those who need it, by opening up discussion during the festival (several workshops will be offered on topics related to sexual assault/consent/positive sexuality/safer spaces/gender).

We want everyone who attends the fest to be aware of the Safer Spaces Statement -  information will be on the website, in the program, displayed around the venue, in announcements during gigs, on flyers, and hopefully it will come up in discussions.  We hope that the very existence of this information will work preventatively and help create a positive environment.

CHILL-OUT SPACE

The LLDIY Collective recognises that it can be overwhelming/upsetting/ exhausting/etc to visit a new city / be out of your comfort zone / not have a space to call your own / to see many old and new friends and lovers in one place / to be somewhere you hardly know anyone very well / to feel awkward or alienated / to participate in an intense 3-days of workshops/gigs/parties/hanging out/sleep-deprivation etc etc.

When you’re out of your “comfort zone” and/or not in your “hometown”, it is important that you have a space to go when you freak out, feel anxious, feel vulnerable, feel sleep-deprived, feel the need to avoid conversation for awhile, or just need to collect your thoughts.

For all these reasons and more, we offer you “the chill-out space”. This is a room where you can go to get some quiet time, sleep, rest, read, drink tea etc. There will be mattresses and cushions, and hopefully some things like herbal tea, essential oils and Bach Flower Rescue Remedy.

SAFE(R) ACCOMMODATION

We recognise that many unwanted/non-consensual sexual encounters occur when people don’t have a place to stay and/or end up sharing sleeping space with someone out of necessity/because they have nowhere else to go. We understand that when people are in a precarious or vulnerable situation where they don’t have a place to stay, it is easy to take whatever accommodation/shared bed is offered.

Therefore, we would like to offer safe(r) accommodation to anyone who needs it during Live and Let DIY fest. During the fest, please speak to someone at the info-table (at the entrance to the venue) for assistance with this. Or please call: 0424 621 294 or 0415 640 715 or 0403 658 995.

NOT JUST AT THE FESTIVAL VENUE

We hope that you keep the idea of “Safer Spaces” in mind while at all LLDIY events. Please continue to keep the guidelines in mind while you are away from the festival venue eg. at the house you are staying at, at the other places you are hanging out at etc.

IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT THE HELL WE’RE ON ABOUT OR IF YOU WOULD LIKE MORE INFORMATION

If you don’t understand why we need to have a Safer Spaces Statement, and you would like more information, please feel free to approach whoever is on the info-desk at the front of the venue (Ahimsa House).

When writing “safer spaces guidelines”, it is often difficult to be exact and explicit about what IS or IS NOT ACCEPTABLE behaviour. If you require further information/clarification, again, please feel free to discuss with festival volunteers (at the info-desk)

Also, keep an eye on the workshop program, as there will be discussion-based workshops on topics related to gender/sexuality/safer spaces that we can all learn from.

If you would like to ask any questions, or to discuss anything related to the LLDIY Safer Spaces Statement (or related issues), please get in contact with us. Before the fest, you can email us at liveandletdiyfest@riseup.net. During the festival, you can approach the info-table and ask to speak to one of the organisers/volunteers.

Thanks a million to the safer spaces crews from Students of Sustainability, Queeruption and Belladonna, for their ideas and for paving the way forward with this stuff.