Sam GreenwoodDance music is built on the foundations of diversity, acceptance and love. Club culture has long been pioneered by marginalised groups, and the community should continue to strive to provide a safe space for all; yet, it appears that sometimes this is not the case in Ireland.
The conversation about sexism, prejudice and inclusivity has recently been brought to the fore as a new page on Instagram @2manymeneire offer an anonymous platform to those who seek to call out the sexist, discriminatory and prejudiced views of those involved in the music industry. In light of these issues, we have brought forward a campaign we’ve been working on in the background to help bring about a more inclusive and safe clubbing experience for everyone, the Irish Clubbing Safety Survey.
Club etiquette and safety are at the core of every decent and honest dance music, party, or brand. We hold these ideas close to our hearts since we have always worked to disseminate the message of safety and diversity through our platforms. We have updated our current staff on our safety guide and discussed how we can make Irish dance music as safe, inclusive, and open-minded as possible. We support everyone who has spoken out against sexism, bigotry, intimidation, and discrimination in the music industry and elsewhere.
In an often volatile world it’s super important that our diverse and marginalised communities are supported and helped to thrive. More infrastructure and training is needed to help venues, promoters and those involved, navigate the many risks at play to help safeguard their attendees as much as possible.
Giving people affected a voice is a critical tool, and we urge individuals who have been affected to seek assistance from the support channels indicated below. We are also conscious that many people are learning about these experiences for the first time, and we encourage everyone to reflect and seek solutions to prevent this type of behaviour from occurring again.
We have been working on this survey over the last few weeks to help us give something back to the dance music community as we’ve been acutely aware of the lack of safe spaces and deterioration of respect on the dancefloor in recent times. Today, we’ve decided to publish this ahead of schedule as it is an important time to encourage feedback and reflection.
The Irish Clubbing Safety Survey offers an opportunity to see how far these issues have grown in recent years, and will help to present a working solution that can help everyone from event attendees to event organisers.
We will publish the results and print a comprehensive Irish Clubbing Safety Guide which we hope helps evolve the discourse and offer guidance to ensure a safe and inclusive clubbing experience for everyone.
Find the survey here. Please note it is fully anonymised and data will be analysed transparently. Massive thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read this and complete and share the survey. We hope this gives back to the music community in the best way possible as change needs to happen.