Violence and abuse is a serious problem with high costs both for the individual who is exposed and for society. Prevention is better than having to deal with the fallout once incidents happen. This guide provides tips and advice on how you as an organizer can prevent and deal with violence, sexual harassment, assault and rape at festivals, concerts and other large events where many people gather. The guidelines build upon experiences from festivals in Norway and is further developed by KUN Centre for Equality and diversity in cooperation with representatives from the cooperating partners in the GrassreEUts project and with Sziget Cultural Management.
The background for addressing diversity and safety is that music festivals face numerous challenges with regard to equality and inclusion. These challenges may revolve around issues of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, accessibility, and more. Our goal is to address these challenges in order to promote diversity and create a welcoming environment for all, including artists, attendees, and the overall staff working on the festival organization. With these guidelines we want to provide organizers with necessary tools and inspiration to actively contribute to creating more equitable and diverse music festival environments.
The guidelines are divided in two different sections: part one on diversity, part two on safety.