The Isle of Wight Domestic Abuse Forum is working in partnership with Island charities at this year’s Isle of Wight Festival to raise awareness of domestic abuse, consent and sexual assault issues.
This will be the first time the group has attended the world renowned music festival and will be on hand to provide information and advice to festival-goer on safe and respectful sexual relationships.The Adult Safeguarding event hub, working under the banner of “Reclaim the Night”, will be based at the Welfare Tents at the Campsite and Main Arena area, where festival goers can create beautiful jewellery using plectrums branded with positive affirmations and helpline numbers. Specialist staff will be available to provide a safe space to talk about concerns with festival goers. The team will also be wandering around the crowd throughout the Festival period to ensure they engage with as many people as possible.
The team is made up of volunteers from the council, Southampton Rape Crisis, Island Women’s Refuge and led by the Safeguarding Adults Board and the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategic Partnership.The Isle of Wight Council’s Safeguarding Adults Board Manager, Fleur Gardiner, said:
“It’s great that we are able to attend this year’s Isle of Wight Festival for the first time and is a real indication of the festival organisers’ sense of responsibility toward their guests over the weekend.
“Our approach will be low key and we are providing a safe space where people can come to make jewellery and relax. Of course, if anyone wants to talk about personal experiences or wants advice, we have a team of specialist staff on hand to support them.
“Should any festival goer want to report an incident to the police, through our close links with our police colleagues, we are also able to support that. It is important that people know that it is a safe space they can come to receive advice, support and further information, whether they feel they want to report something or not.”
The team already has an established presence at Bestival, the other major music festival on the Island.Councillor Phil Jordan, Executive member for public protection, said:
“As the Island prepares to welcome thousands of young people, we are grateful to the organisers of the Isle of Wight Festival for allowing us the opportunity of being able to raise awareness of these important issues and most importantly, provide a safe and supportive area should festival goers wish to make use of it.
Article continues below this advertisement “Attendance at festivals such as this is a key part of the work that the VAWG Strategic Partnership does in its preventative work regarding domestic abuse, sexual assault and consent. I applaud the festival organisers for taking the brave step of inviting us to attend as many other festivals would rather ignore these issues.”
The attendance at the festival is part of an on-going campaign of consent, further details of which can be found on the council website at https://www.iwight.com/Council/OtherServices/Domestic-Abuse/Consent-Sex-without-consent-is-rape.
Festival goers can also follow @iowsab on twitter for advice and information.
