Safer Space Manifesto
Still, up to this day we live in a world where a lot of people feel unsafe and not accepted. In the desire to change all of this, the idea of the safe(r) space manifesto sprouted. It speaks about how the queer community is still oppressed and we still live in a society with power dynamics and privileges. But most importantly it speaks about how we can change all of that, little by little.
We chose the term safe(r) spaces because we realize that not everyone experiences spaces in the same way as others, so any set of guidelines designed to create safety may not meet everyone’s requirements and there may be complications or mistakes in meeting those guidelines in practice.
Our mission is to talk to people, organizations, services, etc. about this manifest. If they believe in everything it stands for and promise to implement it, they can sign a commitment statement.
You can read the manifesto (available in English and Dutch) by clicking on the links below. If you’re interested in signing the manifest, please contact us and we’ll provide all the documents.
We encourage feedback on this manifest. This document is a process and not the whole truth; it is a document that will continue to evolve. That is why adjustments will be made in the future. You can certainly contribute to this. So please contact us if you have advice on making it even more inclusive.
In the future, there will be more translations available, such as French. Also if you can help out with translating, we would love to hear from you.
We realise the manifest is very theoretical, so we wrote some practical guidelines on how you can get started with implementing this theory into your organisation.
Organisations that signed already:
- Slam-T (Ghent, BE)
- Blond (Ghent, BE)
- Queer Pride Gent (Ghent, BE)
- Genderspectrum Gent (Ghent, BE)
- Plasactie VZW (Ghent, BE)
- Macky (Flanders, BE)
- Out Loud (Ghent, BE)
- Tender Noons (Ghent, BE)
- Auw La (Ghent, BE)
- Partij Voor De Poëzie (Antwerp, BE)
- Queer Space (Ghent, BE)
- Girls Go Boom (Ghent, BE)
- Mensen Zeggen Dingen (BE/NL)
- You On Stage (Antwerp, BE)
- Broeikas Gent (Ghent, BE)
- Eyemèr (BE)
- Haus of Consent (Ghent, BE)
- De Levensbloem (Ghent, BE)
- Genderspectrum Antwerpen (Antwerp, BE)
- Inke Gieghase (BE)
- Studio Klinik (Gent, BE)
- Martinique Salomons (BE)
If you feel unsafe at any moment because of one of our signed organisations or at one of their events, please let us know. You don’t have to give your real name, so you have the option to be anonymous. We will contact the organisation and make sure we follow up on the incident in a way that you feel most comfortable.