A 2023 Monash University study found 60% of women and non-binary people respondents feel unsafe in Melbourne music venues, and 80% never reported incidents of sexual harassment and violence.
Since then, clubs across the country have amped up efforts – albeit slowly – to make “safe spaces” more than just a feel-good buzzword.
A new NSW Government report noted that through last year, 40,000 more NSW staff in music clubs – as well as bars, restaurants, pubs, and nightclubs – became trained in noticing, preventing, and responding to harassment and violence.
They’ve learned how to watch out for signs such as unwanted touching, inappropriate comments, or suspected drink spiking.
They now know how to take “the next step” with patrons, security, and police. They also gained an understanding of how various laws apply in these situations, giving them a stronger stand.
The 40,000 workers completed the updated Australian-first Responsible Service of Alcohol course in the first seven months since mandatory prevention training was introduced.
Minister for Music and the Night-Time Economy John Graham said: “This is good for patrons and good for staff. We want to have the best venues possible, and this is part of the government’s reform program to do this.
“Safety is a critical part of a good night out. I’m pleased to see this training has had a strong uptake.
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“As we revive the night-time economy, we have to make sure it's safe. Giving staff the skills to prevent sexual assault on premises is an important step forward in making people safer.”
The course was developed by Liquor & Gaming NSW with international experts Good Night Out.
“This information gives my staff a greater understanding of their responsibilities in this area,” reported Steven Speed, licensee of the Fortune Of War Hotel.
“We want them to know the ground rules, and we want them to know how to deal with a complaint or incident when it happens.”
Minister for Work, Health and Safety Sophie Cotsis noted: “The Government has invested $127.7 million in the health and safety regulator over the next four years to address psychosocial hazards in the workplace.
“Fifty-one inspectors are being recruited, including 20 psychosocial-focused inspectors.”
Argue
Meantime, a new study from Victoria’s Deakin University has argued that ways to combat sexual harassment and sexual violence in music venues were to increase lighting, put a cap on the number of people on dancefloors, and increase the visibility of security staff.
“To ensure this happens, we need tougher regulations around liquor licencing to improve safety in the long term,” asserted Professor Peter Miller of the School of Psychology.
“We need to see real action from the government, the police and the venues, to prioritise the safety of patrons. We’ve worked with great venues and police, but without system-level changes, all that work ultimately goes to waste.
“Dark, crowded spaces inside nightlife venues leave patrons particularly vulnerable to unwanted touching and sexual comments.”
The study focused on patrons attending 18 venues in Geelong, an hour out of Melbourne, with a median age of 21.
Half the women, and almost one in three of the men, had been leered at, sexually propositioned, touched, groped or forcibly kissed.
“Many of the young women we spoke to felt this kind of behaviour was just normal and something they had to accept if they wanted to go out,” related PhD candidate Kira Button.
Security staff were often hard to spot, “either because there were too few of them or because their dark uniforms made them difficult to see in low lighting.”
Only a third of patrons bothered to report sexual harassment to someone in the venue, mostly because “this type of unwanted sexual behaviour was normal in nightclubs and bars, and venue staff and security would not respond appropriately to the report.”
To assess the importance of more lighting in venues, patrons were asked to rate venue brightness on a scale from one to ten. “For each one-point increase in perceived brightness, the odds of experiencing sexual harm fell by 27 per cent,” Button said.
An earlier report from Deakin University, which measured the impact of sexual harassment and violence in nightlife hubs, identified that anxiety was the most common reaction, for 56% to 63% of respondents.
Discomfort was felt by 51% to 62%, while anger was another consequence for 44% to 52%.
Verbal sexual harassment was felt more by patrons who identified as women or gender-diverse, worked as venue staff, or experienced a lot of it.
The report analysed, “For physical sexual harassment, younger age, infrequent nightlife attendance, and experiencing multiple harassment types were associated with greater consequences, while for pressured sexual contact, only gender was significant, with women reporting more consequences than men.
Recommendations
A 2023 Monash University research study, Examining Sexual Violence In The Music City of Melbourne, outlined a number of recommendations.
It wanted governments to block funding to music festivals, record labels and radio stations that don’t meet gender diversity, inclusion and equity criteria.
Other suggestions included better training for security staff, more telephone counselling services and fresh policies to address the problem.
It also identified that any positive moves forward would come from white female punters who were most likely to complain. Staff workers and those in minority groups were less inclined to rock the boat.
“Music workers are really shrouded more by that code of silence,” said Dr Andrea Jean Baker of the School of Media, Film and Journalism, who led the study.
“It’s the audiences that can lead this revolution towards diverse and safe spaces because they’ve got more freedom to speak out.”
But club owners that The Music spoke to said that venue staff and security have to play a major role.
Suggested one, “After the pandemic, clubber behaviour has changed. There’s a lot of anxiety and uncertainty, not just from patrons but from the people who run the clubs, work in them, invest in them, and even local councils and governments.
“It’s one thing to teach males to take on the roles of protectors, or teach women to work as collectives and protect themselves.
“But venues need technology and funding. It needs a concerted effort from everyone to show that people are genuine about creating safe spaces.”
This article mentions sexual assault, harassment, and abuse. If you or someone you know is affected by these experiences and needs to contact someone, please contact 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au.
This piece of content has been assisted by the Australian Government through Music Australia and Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body
