Laneway announce new text line for their 1800 anti-harassment service

Last year, Camp Cope’s long-overdue ‘It Takes One’ campaign shone a light on the troubling epidemic of sexual harassment at gigs and festivals.

This inspired Laneway Festival’s 1800 LANEWAY hotline, which this year has been bolstered with the addition of a text line – as it’s not always feasible to make a phone call.

You can now call 1800 LANEWAY or send a text to 0404 242 555 to report inappropriate or disrespectful behaviour. If you think something might be too minor to report or that you handled the situation – report it anyway. Festivals are meant to be enjoyed by all, and if someone is harassing you, chances are you aren’t the only one suffering at this horrible human’s hands.

In addition, Laneway have partnered with the Good Night Out Campaign, to further the festival’s safety strategies and ensure a fair, fun time is had by all, without the looming threat of sexual harassment.

Bryony Beynon, co-director of Good Night Out Campaign says “There’s no reason anyone should feel unsafe while out enjoying music with friends, and it’s proactive and innovative measures like specialist training for staff and reporting via text that make all the difference.

“Cultural change is not easy, but as a global organisation working in this space we’ve been really impressed by Laneway’s commitment to best practice. We hope it has a positive impact across the Australian festival scene.”

Bravo to Laneway, and let’s hope other gig and festival promoters implement such a feature this year. It would be a great, positive trend to see in 2018.

https://www.facebook.com/lanewayfestival/videos/10156140591543833/

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.