Safe Spaces Now
I’m so glad I started this weekly Substack habit. Being someone who is pretty terrible at documenting things - I’ve never managed to keep a diary- this Substack has become a record of the best year of my life (so far). It’s out there on the internet- a permanent record to look back on- a digital scrapbook.
So the latest instalment of Sarah’s wonderful life is a birthday special. I’m typing this on my phone on the drive back from Lost Village festival (I’m not doing the driving obviously). Normally I’d want to be admiring the scenery- we’re driving the pretty way across the Pennines, but unfortunately I need a wee, so instead typing this out is proving a useful distraction from the increasing pressure in my bladder.
Lost Village is a dance festival in Lincolnshire- I often describe it as Creamfields for posh people although this year there seemed to be fewer Tarquins and more scousers. This is by no means a bad thing- I’m immensely proud of my party-loving adopted city and love being surrounded by familiar accents (I’m also partly responsible as this year I brought two friends with me to add to the scouse takeover).
We were there to volunteer with UN Women, working as Village Guardians. The extensive research the organisation has done showed that women feel particularly unsafe at festivals and music venues… which is how the Safe Spaces Now Campaign came about. UN Women’s 2021 report showed:
Over 70% of women in the UK say they have experienced sexual harassment in public.
Only 3% of women aged 18-24 told us they hadn’t been harassed.
Only 4% of women told us they reported the incidents of harassment to an official organisation – with 45% of women saying they didn’t believe reporting would help change anything.
Lost Village is different and I think that’s down to UN Women and the team of Village Guardians. We have a tent where people can come and chat, find out what we’re doing and get free glitter and temporary tattoos. There’s also a quiet space at the back for anyone who is feeling a bit overwhelmed. Some of us will be in the tent talking to people who come in, but mainly the role of the guardians is to be out and about in the festival. We wear bright pink t-shirts so we’re a visible presence. Lots of people will stop and ask us what we’re doing, which is a good way to start a conversation. The t-shirt has a special impact- when you’re wearing it you’ll notice people smiling at you, holding their hands up for a high 5. You only realise the power the t-shirt has when you take it off at the end of your shift and you go back into the festival as regular punter- no one notices you at all!!
Lost Village feels very safe and one of the most beautiful things about the festival is how everyone can dress as they want. There are plenty of revealing and wonderful outfits worn by people of all genders. No one bats an eyelid or raises a brow except to remark how fabulous someone looks and admire the effort they’ve put in.
Other than visibility, the other key role of a village guardian is to keep an eye out for anyone in a vulnerable state. It’s easy to get separated from your friends and the forest stages can be quite disorienting- especially at night. If you’ve had a drink or taken something, it’s even worse. So we occasionally help the odd person to welfare or medical, but mainly it’s our presence that helps everyone feel safe, knowing there’s people looking out for them if they need it.
My friends and I worked on Thursday and Friday and then had the rest of the festival to enjoy ourselves. It’s my third year of volunteering so I worked out that it would be good to have a space in the crew campsite for all of the UN Women to socialise a little and get to know each other. We brought a gazebo and set up a little camp living room which worked brilliantly. There was a place for us to sit and eat together, get ready, hang out, chat. The kettle was almost always on. It was wonderful to reconnect with some friends from previous years and meet all the new ‘angels’. I found kindred spirits in Kate and Rebecca and the six of us spent almost all weekend together.
I have never enjoyed a birthday so much… I felt totally spoilt with attention and I have never ever danced so hard for so long! My step count was 63,692 - my highest ever for a day without any running!!! I did start at midnight- dancing into my birthday in the Lost Theatre with some great tracks from LV residents Jem & Danny. Then in the afternoon/evening Carlita playing Moondial and Dan Shake in the Junkyard were my musical highlights.
Overall my favourite set has to be Anish Kumar who played the Old Zoo on Sunday. Bellaire were great on the main stage - Mel D was made up to show off her line dancing skills… then Ash Lauryn was our unexpected bonus as we cut through the Outpost hoping to avoid the queue for Confidence Man. She was so good we decided to stay before catching an hour of Acid Pauli. We reunited with some more of the angels for the final headliner- Barry Can’t Swim, and dancing together as a big group was the best way to finish off the festival!
My feet hurt from dancing, my face hurts from smiling and my throat is sore from all the dust but it was all totally worth it and I can’t wait to go back next year!
Then… back to earth with a bump. After having zero signal for four days, I allowed myself some scrolling time on Instagram. Within minutes I see two videos of women and girls being harassed and threatened by men and boys. Both videos taken in Liverpool and both in the last two days. This is not okay. This is never okay. It’s a very sobering reminder of how important the Safe Spaces campaign and the work of UN Women is. As one of the messages in the Un Women tent read:
Not all men are the problem, but all men need to be part of the solution.
And this includes taking any reports of harassment seriously… and they wonder why so many women don’t report!
The Village Guardians (angels) are mostly women but there’s a few lovely men in the team too. We need more men like this. Men who don’t feel threatened at the mere thought of putting on a pink t-shirt, in order to help women feel a little safer.
Whatever your gender, if you’d like to join the movement to ensure all women and girls have access to safety, choice and a voice, you can find out more about the work of UN Women here.