SXSWorld
Issue link: https://sxsw.uberflip.com/i/842100
3 8 SXS W O R L D | M A R C H 2 0 1 7 M U S I C | SXSW.COM PWR BTTM, photo by Andrew Piccone Safe Spaces Music Venues Making Room For Equality By leOr galil Collective Action for Safe Spaces (CASS) in Washington, D.C., frames it this way: "There's no real entirely safe space—you can never guarantee that an incident isn't going to occur because of the larger rape culture." Raven will join Ida on the SXSW panel along with Sadie Dupuis, who fronts indie rockers Speedy Ortiz and performs solo material under the name Sad13. Dupuis has been keen to put her weight behind venues that work to fight physical violence or sexual harassment. "Certainly, that's a necessary base level," she says. "But what kind of active measures does the venue have in place when someone does experi- ence this kind of harassment?" Dupuis also mentions shows that have included volunteers tabling with informa- tion about how to confront harassment—in particular Chicago coalition Our Music My Body, a joint initiative formed by domestic violence nonprofits Between Friends and Rape Victims Advocates. "We want people to just be thinking about what does consent mean, what does taking up space mean," says Between Friends' Matt Walsh. "For myself, as a man, recognizing my experiences at concerts … and I think trying to engage with men to think about this stuff is really important." In addition to offering educational information at Chicago concerts, Our Music My Body has tabled at Pitchfork Music Festival and Riot Fest—during the latter festival, Our Music My Body hosted a panel on harassment in music, which included Sleater-Kinney singer-guitarist Corin Tucker and Bandcamp man- aging editor Jes Skolnik. Skolnik, who uses they/them pronouns, has confronted issues of safety in DIY music for decades. "I've been part of these kinds of conversations since the early to mid '90s, and they've been hap- pening in spaces for longer than that, too," Skolnik says, explaining that what has changed is where the discussions are taking place: "Social media in particular allows you to see that people are having the same discussions in different places around the country, and makes that easier to access—you just get to see that there's sort of a critical mass of people out there who are actually talking about it, and it doesn't seem like it's your isolated DIY scene anymore." Implementing safety measures remains a challenge. Skolnik is part of a team that has been trying to open an all-ages, handicap accessible venue in Chicago called Pure Joy. Skolnik knows the challenges owners of established venues face when it comes to providing an inclusive space. "There are so many financial limita- tions to talking about designing a physical space," Skolnik says. "Obviously if you are any kind of independent promoter, whether it's an established club or not, there's not a lot of money in it." Beyond the physical and monetary limitations of clubs, there are viable ways to combat harassment. With CASS, Raven helps helm Safe Bars, a program that trains staff at bars and venues on how to stop harassment. "Fifty percent of sexual assaults involve the use of alcohol, according to a study by NIH," she says. She's seen a spike in training requests since the presidential election due to a rise in hate- based harassment: A Southern Poverty Law Center report in early February collected information on more than 1,300 reports of bias incidents. Safety remains a national concern, and at least in the music scene there are people working collectively to stop abuse. The "Safe Space to Rock: Combating Harassment in Music" session will be held on Friday, March 17 at 2pm, part of the SXSW Music Conference's Touring & Live Experience pro- gramming track. See schedule.sxsw.com for more details. I n November 2015, New York pop-punk duo PWR BTTM intro- duced a request in their tour rider—an initiative about restrooms. In February 2016, the band posted a screenshot of the new stip- ulation on their Facebook page: "In an effort to ensure the safety and comfort of patrons of all gender identities, PWR BTTM asks that restrooms at the venue be made gender neutral for the evening." The band addresses queerness and gender fluidity in song, and this rider section is a natural extension of its music. Fans responded positively, but the move may have helped make the group more of a target: In November, anti-gay protesters gathered outside a PWR BTTM show at Big Sleepy's in Jackson, Mississippi. PWR BTTM has used its rising profile to help bring issues concerning safety and inclusivity in music venues to the fore of the national scene. Bands are far from the only people involved in the music ecosystem confronting issues that make women, people of color, LGBTQ and gender-fluid individuals feel unsafe watching live music. Femchord, a radio program and music site focused on women and non-binary people involved in music, is bringing the conversation to SXSW this year with a panel called "Safe Space to Rock: Combating Harassment in Music." Femchord founders Kate Ida and Julia Wejchert started working on the panel last spring. By the summer, their message had an increased urgency, and Ida cites the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, Florida, and reports of nearly 50 sexual assaults at two Swedish music festivals as affecting on her view of safety in music. "It felt like music, which had in many ways been a haven for people who didn't necessarily feel like they fit in other places of society—it didn't feel safe anymore," she says. "It didn't feel like it was neces- sarily a place that welcomed everyone." Not that music festivals and venues have always been welcoming. Jessica Raven, executive director of the grassroots organization