NOT EVERY 'SAFE SPACE'
IS SAFE.
The word 'Safe Space' is increasingly being used in branding and marketing.
Some businesses do the work. Some just buy the sticker.
You won't know which until it's too late.
We are demanding that the UK parliament require training for businesses that advertise as 'safe spaces'.
Help us reach 100,000 signatures so we can take this to parliament.
NOT EVERY 'SAFE SPACE'
IS SAFE.
The word 'Safe Space' is increasingly being used in branding and marketing.
Some businesses do the work.
Some just buy the sticker.
You won't know which until it's too late.
We are demanding that the UK parliament require training for spaces that advertise as 'safe spaces'.
Help us reach 100,000 signatures so we can take this to parliament.
Safewashing
When a business, organisation, or community group claims to be safe, inclusive, or welcoming through a sticker, a social media post, a poster, or a line on a website, without the training or accountability to support it.
Safewashing
When a business, organisation, or community group claims to be safe, inclusive, or welcoming through a sticker, a social media post, a poster, or a line on a website, without the training or accountability to support it.
Why this is important?
You’ve trusted a sign before walking into a venue. We all have.
But do you trust that sign to keep you safe?
Right now, anyone can slap up a "safe space" label with zero training, zero accountability, and zero consequences. If something goes wrong, the business isn't the one paying the price. You are.
These labels are popping up everywhere because it works. It draws us in because we are looking for a space that will support us if we need it. But from the outside, there is no way to tell the difference between a venue that’s done the work and one that’s just done the branding.
As 'safe space' grows in popularity, this gap is going to get harder and harder, till the word has no meaning.
A well-meaning sign doesn't protect anyone.
Preparation and action do.
We hear the reality behind these signs every day:
-
A young woman uses a venue's safety code word, only to be met with blank stares from the staff, leaving her to figure it out alone.
-
A bartender suffers homophobic abuse during the 2026 World Cup, only to be told by management to "just get on with it."
-
A performer faced aggressive groping in a club while staff stood by, having no idea how to handle the situation.
All of these stories were from venues claiming to be 'Safe Spaces'.
Enough is enough. We must Stop Safewashing.
Why is this important?
You’ve trusted a sign before walking into a venue. We all have.
But do you trust that sign to keep you safe when you need it?
Right now, anyone can slap up a "safe space" label with zero training, zero accountability, and zero consequences. If something goes wrong, the business isn't the one paying the price. You are.
These labels are popping up everywhere because it works. It draws us in because we are looking for a space that will support us if we need it. But from the outside, there is no way to tell the difference between a venue that’s done the work and one that’s just done the branding.
As 'safe space' grows in popularity, this gap is going to get harder and harder, till the word has no meaning.
A well-meaning sign doesn't
protect anyone.
Preparation and action do.
We hear the reality behind these signs every day:
-
A young woman uses a venue's safety code word, only to be met with blank stares from the staff, leaving her to figure it out alone.
-
A bartender suffers homophobic abuse during the 2026 World Cup, only to be told by management to "just get on with it."
-
A performer faced aggressive groping in a club while staff stood by, having no idea how to handle the situation.
All of these stories were from venues claiming to be 'Safe Spaces'.
Enough is enough.
We must stop Safewashing.
If you have a story to tell,
share it on social media using
#stopsafewashing and #saferforwho
Together, we can show the real demand for genuinely safe spaces and create change.
If you have a story to tell,
share it on social media using
#stopsafewashing and #saferforwho
Together, we can show the real demand for genuinely safe spaces and create change.
Campaign Manifesto
1
Make 'Safe Spaces' a protected word
We must stop safewashing before it becomes a bigger issue. Making 'Safe Spaces' and other 'safety' terms protected under commercial law will require spaces to back up the claim with training.
2
Require accredited training for spaces
To have any training provided by accredited bodies, to ensure trust when dealing with the public's safety.
3
Make it enforceable
Give power to local authorities and licensing bodies so they can audit, fine, and strip the claim from anyone who hasn't earned it.
Campaign Manifesto
1
Make 'Safe Spaces' a protected word
We must stop safewashing before it becomes a bigger issue. Making 'Safe Spaces' and other 'safety' terms protected under commercial law will require spaces to back up the claim
with training.
2
Require accredited training for spaces
To have any training provided by accredited bodies, to ensure trust when dealing with the public's safety.
3
Make it enforacable
Give power to local authorities and licensing bodies so they can audit, fine, and strip the claim from anyone who hasn't earned it.
What the statistics say
1 in 2 women and 1 in 5 men feel unsafe walking alone after dark in public spaces.
60% of people who feel unsafe actively alter their daily behaviour, routes, or plans.
- Office of National Statistics (2021)
What the stastistics say
Safety is also significant in other licensed premises;
65% want improvements in stadiums and arenas;
64% in hotels and guest houses;
62% in sports and social clubs;
58% in restaurants
and 52% in theatres.
- YouGov (2021)
What the statistics say
97% of women aged 18–24 and 70% of all women in the UK have experienced public sexual harassment.
96% of victims do not report it, largely due to a lack of confidence that staff or authorities are equipped to respond.
- UN Women UK & YouGov Report (2022)
What the statistics say
A total of 79% of adults aged 18-45 agree with the statement that ‘the recent publicity around the safety of women and girls has made it more important for licensed premises to improve their safety procedures’ in nightclubs.
- Office of National Statistics (2021)
1 in 2 women and 1 in 5 men feel unsafe walking alone after dark in public spaces.
60% of people who feel unsafe actively alter their daily behaviour, routes, or plans.
- Office of National Statistics (2021)
Safety is also significant in other licensed premises;
65% want improvements in stadiums and arenas;
64% in hotels and guest houses;
62% in sports and social clubs;
58% in restaurants
and 52% in theatres.
- YouGov (2021)
97% of women aged 18–24 and 70% of all women in the UK have experienced public sexual harassment.
96% of victims do not report it, largely due to a lack of confidence that staff or authorities are equipped to respond.
- UN Women UK & YouGov Report (2022)
A total of 79% of adults aged 18-45 agree with the statement that ‘the recent publicity around the safety of women and girls has made it more important for licensed premises to improve their safety procedures’ in nightclubs.
- Office of National Statistics (2021)
The statistics
Why we do what we do
"They were probably in a relationship. She was just trying to get him in trouble."
That is what the owner of a security firm told me, after a man spent our very first Pride event secretly photographing a group of lesbian friends and refusing to leave them alone.
The woman had reported him to security three times. He was only removed when a manager finally noticed and stepped in.
My son Nick and I used to run Arcobaleno, an LGBTQ+ venue in Kemptown, Brighton. We built it so people could walk in and just be themselves, nothing to explain, nothing to hide. Somewhere they could call home. For our first Pride, we hired security specifically to keep our community safe. We briefed them ourselves: this is an LGBTQ+ safe space, please send guards who are allies, who support what we're doing here.
The next morning, I stood in my kitchen reading an email from the woman. She'd laid out what had happened to her, hour by hour. She left that night feeling worse than if she'd never come at all.
I called the security firm straight away. When I asked the owner how his team had let this happen, he chuckled.
"Listen, when you've been doing this as long as I have, you learn that the woman and her harasser were probably a couple. She was just trying to get him in trouble."
A group of lesbian women, harassed by a man, at our own Pride event, and he dismissed it as a straight couple's spat.
The signage was right. Our intentions were right. But the security guards standing in that room didn't know what to do when it actually mattered.
We'd hired a firm, briefed them, asked for allies. We thought that was enough. It wasn't, and we didn't find that out until it was too late.
That's safewashing.
Not the lie of pretending to care. The far more common version, where you genuinely do care, put the resources in, say the right things, and still never train anyone on what to actually do when someone's standing in front of you asking for help.
A safe space is more than a symbol, more than good intentions. It's the person standing next to you, knowing what to do in the next ten seconds.
That night is the reason this petition exists. We're asking for practical safety training to be mandatory, so nobody is ever left standing there on their own, working out whether anyone's actually going to help.
Why we do it
"They were probably in a relationship. She was just trying to get him in trouble."
That is what the owner of a security firm told me, after a man spent our very first Pride event secretly photographing a group of lesbian friends and refusing to leave them alone.
The woman had reported him to security three times. He was only removed when a manager finally noticed and stepped in.
My son Nick and I used to run Arcobaleno, an LGBTQ+ venue in Kemptown, Brighton. We built it so people could walk in and just be themselves, nothing to explain, nothing to hide. Somewhere they could call home. For our first Pride, we hired security specifically to keep our community safe. We briefed them ourselves: this is an LGBTQ+ safe space, please send guards who are allies, who support what we're doing here.
The next morning, I stood in my kitchen reading an email from the woman. She'd laid out what had happened to her, hour by hour. She left that night feeling worse than if she'd never come at all.
I called the security firm straight away. When I asked the owner how his team had let this happen, he chuckled.
"Listen, when you've been doing this as long as I have, you learn that the woman and her harasser were probably a couple. She was just trying to get him in trouble."
A group of lesbian women, harassed by a man, at our own Pride event, and he dismissed it as a straight couple's spat.
The signage was right. Our intentions were right. But the security guards standing in that room didn't know what to do when it actually mattered.
We'd hired a firm, briefed them, asked for allies. We thought that was enough. It wasn't, and we didn't find that out until it was too late.
That's safewashing.
Not the lie of pretending to care. The far more common version, where you genuinely do care, put the resources in, say the right things, and still never train anyone on what to actually do when someone's standing in front of you asking for help.
A safe space is more than a symbol, more than good intentions. It's the person standing next to you, knowing what to do in the next ten seconds.
That night is the reason this petition exists. We're asking for practical safety training to be mandatory, so nobody is ever left standing there on their own, working out whether anyone's actually going to help.
Sign the petition, and let's make the world a safer place.
.jpg)
