Making spaces safer
a guide to giving harassment the boot wherever you work, play, and gather
Shawna Potter, singer for the band War On Women, has tackled sexism and harassment in lyrics and on stage for years. Taking the battle to music venues themselves, she has trained night clubs and community spaces in how to create safer environments for marginalized people. Now she’s turned decades of experience into a clear and concise guide for public spaces of all sorts, from art galleries to bagel shops to concert halls, that want to shut down harassers wherever they show up. The steps she outlines are realistic, practical, and actionable. With the addition of personal stories, case studies, sample policies, and no-nonsense advice like “How to Flirt without Being a Creep,” she shows why safer spaces are important, while making it easier to achieve them. Eschewing theory, she assumes the reader is already an ethical creature and jumps right in with candor, punk passion, and righteous anger to get the job done!
Available in paperback, e-book, and audio formats, in both English and Spanish.
Praise for Making Spaces Safer
“Every person who runs a venue, is in a band, bartends, or anybody who likes going to shows should have access to a copy of this book. ”
“[Her] tips are so sensible and necessary that it’s hard to imagine that they are not already put to practice in every public space.”
“‘Making Spaces Safer’ has so many clear tactics for making shows more inclusive and welcoming, and, as a side effect, more fun for everyone. Whether you book bands, tend bar, want to look out for the well-being of your fellow music fans, or own the whole damn club. Great tips that will help you make your space rule.”
“Every time someone wants me to prove sexism in the scene exists I am not going to tell them about having beer spat in my face while I’m singing or about men screaming ‘shut up’ while I’m talking between songs. I’m gonna hand them this book and say ‘No more horror stories, here are some solutions.’”
“Shawna Potter’s work represents the best of punk and DIY values—an insistence that we don’t need to wait for politicians or anyone else to act. We can lead by example.”
“És un text net i honest que ens pot ajudar a revisar-nos, cosa que hauríem d’anar fent sovint, per adaptar-nos a uns temps on la seguretat dels llocs, hauria de ser la norma, no l’excepció. (It’s a clean, honest text that can help to check ourselves, something that we all should do often, in order to adapt to an era in which safety in spaces should be the rule, not the exception.)”
“El libro nos explica la importancia de evolucionar como sociedad ya que todos somos responsables de qué actitudes se normalizan y cómo las gestionamos, tenemos el poder y debemos utilizarlo. (The book talks about the importance of evolving as a society because we are all responsible for what attitudes are normalized and how we deal with them, we have the power and we must use it.)”
Available in Spanish
Shawna Potter, cantante de la banda War On Women, lleva años enfrentándose al machismo y al acoso tanto en sus letras como sobre el escenario. También ha impartido formación a locales y espacios comunitarios sobre cómo crear entornos más seguros para personas discriminadas. Ahora ha convertido sus décadas de experiencia en una guía concisa para todo tipo de espacios públicos, desde galerías de arte a salas de conciertos, que quieren deshacerse de los acosadores en el mismo momento en que aparecen. Una síntesis de sus talleres, las propuestas de Cómo crear espacios más seguros son realistas, sensatas y fáciles de poner en práctica. Con ejemplos que incluyen historias personales, casos prácticos y ejemplos de políticas antiacoso, nos demuestra por qué es importante que haya espacios más seguros al tiempo que hace más fácil que podamos conseguir crearlos. Con pasión punk, sinceridad y rabia se consigue hacer el trabajo.
Traducción de Hugo Camacho.
Order a physical or e-copy of Cómo crear espacios más seguros today.
If you’d like to translate or publish this book in another language, please reach out.
How do i best support the author?
Purchase her book directly from the publisher (AK Press or Orciny Press), in paperback, e-book, or audio version.
Order it from your local bookstore. If it’s not in stock, ordering it will help put it on their radar.
Book her for a safer space training.
Buy the book in bulk for your group, place of employment, students, or as gifts via AK Press.
Review and recommend the book. Follow, like, and share Shawna on socials.
Avoid purchasing from Amazon if possible, but reviewing and recommending is helpful.