CREATING SAFER SPACES
Our work is a bit edgy.
So how do we create safer spaces?
The Australian School of Sexuality provides ongoing community consent awareness education combined with event specific consent education and protocols, with an emphasis on Personal Responsibility as well as organisational accountability.
The parameters of activities within spaces are agreed upon by venue owner(s), event organiser(s), performer(s) and/or educator(s), and any other relevant stakeholders.
We strive to communicate the contents of the space to attendees, particularly regarding triggers warnings or extreme content.
We provide designated support staff within our spaces to address issues of consent and safety.
We conduct direct check-ins after most events (dependent upon structure) with an additional global reporting protocol (see below) including anonymous and external options.
Due diligence re educators & performers
Most of the professionals we hire for our events have excellent reputations; for those we don’t know well we do enact a short review process. Equally if we hear rumours about our performers and educators, we will seek further information.
Due diligence re attendees
If someone with a known history of predatory behaviour seeks entrance to our spaces we enact a restorative justice protocol to explore where they’re at in their process eg accountability, therapy. If they show unwillingness to engage in this process they are automatically blacklisted.
Conflict Resolution, Blacklisting & Ostracization
We take safety concerns very seriously and do not accept predatory behaviour within our spaces. Equally, we know that accidents happen and the way in which an event is handled is a significant factor of ongoing traumatic impact. If an issue occurs within our space, we will do our utmost to:
⁃ Meet this with a regulated nervous system. You don’t need our reactivity adding to your distress.
- Give agency to you and allow you to determine the course of action. We will work within legal and safety frameworks but allow you to guide the process.
⁃ Provide for your immediate physical and psychological care - if you have sustained an injury we will immediately enact and/or seek appropriate medical care. If a qualified emotional support person is available they will provide an extra layer of care.
⁃ Address the safety and care of other attendees who may also be experiencing distress.
⁃ Remove all affected parties from the space in which the event has occurred. Seek a quiet space (or two) in which to regulate and have a conversation about what happened. We believe victims - and we also believe that accidents happen, and if those enacting harm are willing to take responsibility and learn, we want to support that process.
⁃ Take a report of the incident and enact any measures that need to be addressed. For example a small venue related injury would necessitate an action of repair. Interpersonal issues are somewhat more complex!
⁃ Enact ongoing due diligence protocols including further investigations if required, and support of ongoing remediation between affected parties.
⁃ If a perpetrator has enacted significant harm they will be blacklisted from the space and we will support the victim in any legal proceedings.
⁃ Cancellation and ostracization are extreme social measures that we do not enact lightly. We are all fallible, and our requirement is that people in our spaces authentically be trying to improve their practise and understanding.
Availability & Transparency
If something has happened within our spaces we’d rather know about it, and we aim to meet this information with compassion. Additionally if something has happened within our spaces we would rather enact transparency, while still observing the privacy, agency and respect of for those involved.
We provide ways to notify of incidents at the time our space is running and also afterwards. We utilise social media messaging, email, feedback forms and other methods to ensure we are available.
Photography & Filming
In most of our spaces we either don’t take photography or video, or it is clearly communicated. However this is not the case in all our spaces. If you see a camera filming in our spaces, rest assured it will be recording performances, with no intent to publish material without explicit consent.
We welcome suggestions for how to improve the safety of our spaces.
ACCOUNTABILITY & REPORTING PROCESS
Our work is often edgy and transgressive,
but we have no intent to harm,
and work hard to create safer spaces.
Occasionally we fuck up.
We'd rather know about it so we can continue making our selves and our spaces better.
Whilst many of our individual events have had reporting processes,
this has not been the case for all our projects.
This is a list of suggested ways for you to communicate with us
about any negative experiences within our spaces.
Mistress Tokyo has volunteered to be an alternative form of contact.
It is almost impossible to find truly impartial parties;
nonetheless we believe she has a rigorous ethical praxis.
We also love positive feedback!