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Today, Falls Festival have announced a bunch of new national initiatives to address safety and sexual assault at their events. The press release referred to the fact that one in five women experience sexual violence in their lifetime. They wrote it was time they “acknowledge the position Falls holds when it comes to influencing widespread cultural change.”The wave of new actions are largely focused around support for individuals who report sexual assault at the festivals. This will include sexual assault counselors on site to provide crisis care, ongoing support and be present during medical and police interactions. There are also increased security measures.The full list of changes they’ve committed to in 2018 are:
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- Increasing number of CCTV cameras across the sites
- Increasing security in the camp grounds
- Key event staff to undertake psychological first aid training
- Sexual assault counsellors on site at all events
- Specific training for all event staff in dealing with the reporting of incidences of sexual assault or harassment on site
- Formalising sexual assault incident response protocols for staff and patrons
- Private consultation spaces within the medical area for assault victims