The websites of more than 25 festivals will be “blacked out” for 24 hours on Monday as part of a campaign to raise awareness about sexual assault at music events, and measures being taken to combat such incidents.
Instigated by the Association Of Independent Festivals, the Safer Spaces campaign is promoting three key messages, they being “zero tolerance to sexual assault”, “hands off unless consent” and “don’t be a bystander”. While the official websites of participating festivals are blacked out, said events will be promoting those messages via their various social media channels.
More than 60 members of AIF have also signed up to a charter of best practice committing to ensure both staff and volunteers are trained to deal with incidents of sexual violence, to take a victim-led approach to sexual assault incidents, and to provide confidential welfare services for victims.
Commenting on the campaign, AIF’s Renae Brown said: “This campaign is building upon the positive measures that are already being taken by our members. We are reiterating that we have a zero tolerance towards any form of sexual harassment or assault at our events”.
The campaign is being supported and informed by a number of other organisations, on which Brown added: “Our members already take very seriously their responsibilities as event organisers, and by taking guidance from Rape Crisis England & Wales, Girls Against, Safe Gigs For Women and the White Ribbon Campaign we are aiming to tackle these issues in both a sensitive and impactful way – pushing awareness of sexual safety to the fore, while ensuring all those working onsite are properly trained, and that UK festivals continue to provide the safest, securest and most enjoyable environment for their customers”.
[from http://ift.tt/2lvivLP]
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