About Safe Space Nottingham
Through research and conversations with women, it became clear that creating safe and welcoming spaces in Nottingham presented an opportunity to support the community’s well-being and confidence.
While not all women have personally experienced abuse, many have shared that stories from peers, media reports, and awareness of violence against women and girls (VAWG) statistics have heightened concerns about safety, especially at night. This highlights a collective desire for spaces that help everyone feel secure and at ease as they enjoy the city.
We also recognise that feeling vulnerable is a universal experience, and safe spaces are designed to be inclusive and supportive for anyone who needs them
Background
The Safe Space Pledge is an important initiative, which empowers venues to create safe environments free from harassment and violence.
The Safe Space Pledge was based on several consultation and engagement groups with local women’s groups and specialists in Nottingham’s sexual violence and domestic abuse sector. The groups captured the views and voices of women, who had experienced violence and harassment in Nottingham City Centre.
In addition to the engagement groups, a survey was shared across Nottingham to find out how safe women felt in Nottingham’s night-time economy.
The conversations and feedback demonstrated that more needed to be done around raising awareness of consent and improving the availability of safe spaces and trained staff within venues.
Using this research and in consultation, the Consent Coalition and It’s in Nottingham, created the Safe Space Pledge.
How the pledge was designed
The pledge was designed to include meaningful actions that venues would take to ensure that they were actively promoting women’s safety.
These included training of staff, being prepared to have a designated ‘safe space’ and agreeing to yearly audits to make sure the pledge was being met.
Through conversations with venues the scheme has been widened to offer support to anyone who is feeling vulnerable while in the city.
Nottingham is the first city in the country to embed the Safe Space Pledge within the Best Bar None accreditation. This means that any venue wanting to be accredited under the Best Bar None scheme for Nottingham must also undertake and implement all points of the Safe Space Pledge.
The pledge is made up of eight actions and commitments venues can take to improve the safety of women and girls. It is managed by It’s in Nottingham and any venue in Nottingham City can sign up to the pledge, including those who are not licensed to sell alcohol.
We Pledge:
The Safe Space Pledge is a Nottingham City centre initiative, dedicated to improving safety within Nottingham’s night-time and day-time economy. The 8 pledges empowers both licensed and non-licensed venues to take meaningful action in reducing violence, harassment and intimidation.
You can find out more about the pledge by downloading the guide…
Join Safe Space Nottingham
To become involved in the scheme and to become a Safe Space Venue follow these steps:
Register interest with It’s in Nottingham by emailing bcrp@itsinnottingham.com
Agree and commit to all 8 Safe Space Pledges
Sign up to the Safe Space Pledge training sessions or complete the attached online course
Notify It’s in Nottingham of completion of the staff training and which two staff have been nominated as the two Safe Space Pledge Champions
A Safe Space Pledge resource pack will be sent to your venue, to display the posters, resources and window sticker
Your business will then be registered as an accredited Safe Space Pledge venue on the It’s in Nottingham website and App.
Get in touch
Whether you’re interested in becoming a Safe Space venue, volunteering your time, or simply have questions about our pledge and resources, we’d love to hear from you.