Safety Riders

Why a Safety Rider?

Safety riders require or encourage certain measures be in place at any venue you play, for example gender-neutral bathrooms, sexual harassment policies, harm reduction policies, etc.

(The below draws heavily from Good Night Out Vancouver's excellent work)

Things you may want to require/request on a safety rider:

1. At least 1 (or more) women/non-binary security staff to be rostered on for your show.

2. Diversity of venue staff (bar, door, technical teams) to be rostered on for your show.

3. A briefing with you/your TM and the security team to reiterate the security-related things that are important to you. (See the “Security Tip Sheet” for more examples of what you might want to raise.)

4. Write your own Safe Spaces policy/crowd expectations and request it be shared by the venue/promoter ahead of the show.

5. Print out and display a personalized “Safety Poster” that articulates your (the artist) expectations of the crowd and the venue at your show.

6. If you're a solo performer, a venue spot person to stand by during gear load out & waiting for transpo if needed.

Questions you may want to ask of the venue/the security provider:

1. Do they have a policy/policies on acceptable crowd behaviour, incident reporting, and incident response they can share with you?

2. How are their staff (security, bar, door, tech) are trained/expected to handle reports of harassment, discrimination, and assault?

3. Are their staff trained in bystander intervention, and how are they trained to identify situations where this may be needed?

4. Ask for specifics about where/how patrons can seek help and report incidents.

5. Are staff briefed on how to navigate ID checks for transgender and gender non-conforming folks?

6. What safety and accessibility features does the venue have? (mobility access, mobility and gender-neutral bathrooms)

7. Accessible and Free Water for crowd.

Safety & Culture Rider Template

Below is an example of an agreement you can supply to a venue or a promoter. Developed with the legends at Forte Touring.

See also: Safer Music Spaces

What does it mean to be a safe music space and how do you do it?