Safe Space Policy

Tees Music Alliance - Safe Space Policy

Introduction

A Safe space policy is all about creating an open and welcoming environment to enable everyone who comes to our venue to have a great time and feel able to participate. We strive for our safe space policy to be more of a concept rather than a physical document.

We want everyone to relax, listen to music, enjoy time with friends, meet new people and feel part of our community.

Tees Music Alliance is committed to operating as a space which is inclusive and supportive, in which no forms of discrimination are tolerated. Racism, Homophobia, sexism, transphobia, fat phobia, ableism or prejudice based on age, ethnicity, nationality, class gender, gender presentation, language ability, immigration status, cultural or spiritual beliefs, or religious affiliation is unacceptable and will be challenged.

What We Have In Place

• A proactive, friendly and welcoming team who are looking out for all of our community
• A quiet area can be made available if people need timeout
• Portable seating can be arranged on a per person basis – just ask a member of the team
• Both of our venues are wheelchair accessible  with ground floor access to our performance spaces, our bars and our adapted toilets
• In The Georgian Theatre we have a section of the ground floor bar that is lowered for wheelchair users, in our other bars our friendly team  will be happy to help
• We recognise that people with accessibility requirements may need to have someone with them. For this, we offer a free ticket to personal assistants / carers
• Tees Music Alliance has been awarded ‘bronze status’ for its commitment to deaf and disabled music fans, following recognition by Attitude is Everything 
• Gender neutral and gendered toilets with sanitary bins and free sanitary products
• No tolerance for violence, abuse or harassment of any kind – see our Anti-violence, Abuse and Harassment Policy below
• A commitment to strive for marginalised groups and gender equal line-ups
• A commitment to strive for marginalised groups and gender equal line-ups as evidenced by our sign up to the Key Change Pledge
• A dedicated inbox should you need to tell us about any problems you encountered at the venue safespace@teesmusicalliance.org.uk
• Do get in touch if you are anxious about attending one of our gigs

Safe Space Guidelines

• Be aware of the connotations of language. Many common expressions use discriminatory language so think before speaking
• Do not make assumptions about anyone’s gender, pronouns, sexual preference, abilities, ethnic identity, survivor status, or life experiences
• Be prepared to challenge hateful, discriminatory or oppressive language. If you are challenged, do not become defensive, but listen, think and learn
• We encourage our community to listen to views which are different from their own, but feel confident in expressing opposition in a non-confrontational way
• Respect each other’s physical and emotional boundaries, always get explicit verbal consent before touching someone or crossing boundaries
• Everyone has an equal right to be heard and an equal responsibility to listen
• Say ‘excuse me’ when moving through the crowd rather than pushing or touching people. A couple of taps on the shoulder may be ok if they haven’t heard you
• Respect the space of others around you by asking, ‘is it ok if I stand/sit/dance here?’ When moving to a new space check that the people around you still have a good view, that their personal space is maintained, and that you aren’t likely to bump into them when dancing
• If you are tall, check those behind you have a good line of sight to the stage and move if that will help
• Pronouns – a pronoun is how you refer to someone, for example using he, she, they, etc. Please ask people what their pronouns are if you are meeting them for the first time. Use their correct pronouns, even if the words are unfamiliar to you. If you make a mistake and refer to someone with the wrong pronoun, apologise and move on
• Don’t make assumptions about someone’s identity and think about the ways that people from minority groups may be impacted in different ways by the issues you discuss. Be aware that your experiences are not necessarily the same as everybody else in the room. Be aware of any position and privileges you may bring regarding for example your race, your class, your gender identity, your ability or your age
• Abide by our anti-violence and harassment policy
• Support our marginalised groups and gender diverse line-ups

Anti-violence, Abuse and Harassment Policy

Any behaviour – physical or verbal – that harms others, or makes existing power imbalances worse, is not welcome. This means:

• Do not harm, abuse, harass, intimidate or denigrate other audience members, team members, musicians or others working at/visiting  the venue
• Harassment, hostility and aggression will not be tolerated in any form and if we feel that you have overstepped these boundaries we will challenge this and you may be asked to leave.
• There is a zero tolerance policy to sexual harassment. This means no unwanted touching. So please make sure you have consent before engaging in any physical contact with someone. This also means no wolf whistling or catcalling, and no inappropriate sexual comments or sexually based jokes or taunts
• Listen to what people say to you and do not make assumptions about them or what they might like/dislike. Respect their boundaries and amend your behaviour accordingly
• Only touch people with their express consent. When moving  through the crowd say ‘excuse me’ (a tap on the shoulder may be ok if they  don’t  initially  hear you)
• Cease conversation or physical contact with someone when they request or imply that you stop
• Do not stare at people
• If you feel uncomfortable come and talk to us
• If you have caused someone to feel uncomfortable then we will want to talk to you

What To Do If You Experience Harassment Or Violence At The Venue

We understand that people react differently to harassment and violence. Our aim is to support targeted people and so please tell us about incidents as soon as you feel able. We recognise that for some people this may be after the event.

• On the night speak to any team member to tell us what happened. We will support you
• If you decide to talk to us at a later date, you can talk to us in person, on the phone, or you can email our safe spaces email account safespace@teesmusicalliance.org.uk
• We will treat the incident confidentially, unless you ask us to do otherwise
• If the incident was perpetrated by a team member, we will take this very seriously
• If you wish to report the incident anonymously or via a friend, we will do all we can to ensure that such incidents don’t happen again
• If you are a team member and wish to report an incident please refer to the employee handbook, alternatively you can speak to any member of the leadership team who will take your report very seriously
• If you witness harassment, violence or other discrimination please tell us so that we can support the targeted person

Marginalised Groups and Gender Diverse Line Ups

We aim for marginalised groups (e.g. people of colour, LGBTQIA+ people, and disabled musicians) and gender diverse line-ups for internally booked gigs. We believe this makes for more variety of musical experiences for audiences and musicians. We ask that you support us in our aim for diverse line-ups by doing the following:

• Enjoy  novel experiences by coming to listen to bands who are new to you
• Arrive early enough to watch support acts, even if you haven’t heard of them
• Some musicians  may  be just starting out so show extra enthusiasm and give them encouragement
• Buy their merch
• Shout out about them on social media
• Let us know about acts you think will fit our bill via social media