The Plateforme de la Vie Nocturne are in Barcelona on Thursday and Friday to present the seminar “Gender in public space” at the Espai Bombers. The two-day working meeting will be a chance for sharing ideas, projects and technological tools to make further progress through prevention and develop a universal strategy for safe and respectful conduct at night which includes the gender perspective.
This platform, which Barcelona belongs to, offers a space for reflection on good practice relating to coexistence in nightlife areas in cities. The Plateforme de la Vie Nocturne is meeting as it does every year in 2023 to organise its international conference in Paris, which will be preceded by four seminars in four member cities.
Barcelona is the scene for the first of these seminars, addressing nightlife from a gender perspective and taking into account anthropological considerations, equality, urban planning, public safety and more.
Safe routes
The gender perspective must run through all public policy, as well as prevention and safety. In this respect, the City Police set up four permanent safe routes in nightlife areas in the summer, reaching the nearest public transport stops. The goal is to prevent and detect situations of sexual violence. Specifically, this operation was conducted at the seafront, in Poblenou, in Av. Paral·lel and in Gràcia and Sarrià – Sant Gervasi.
The measure strengthens the safe routes set up for large events since 2020, such as local festivals, music festivals, New Year’s Eve, the celebrations for Midsummer’s Eve etc.
More training for nightlife staff
These routes fall within the joint responsibility project that includes nightlife operators, taking into account the gender perspective. In this respect, the City Police and the Area for Feminism provide training for staff working in nightlife venues, enabling them to prevent and detect situations involving sexual violence.
Citizen Board for Civic and Safe Nightlife
The Citizen Board for Civic and Safe Nightlife was set up in November 2021 and includes eight stakeholders, between administrations, police corps, public organisations, retailers, restauranteurs and nightlife establishments. The goal is to analyse build-ups of people in public space at night and put forward solutions for tackling uncivil behaviour.
The action plan for the board, created on the initiative of the Area for Safety and Prevention at Barcelona City Council, has ten lines of action:
- Promote changes in regulations and the review of criteria for the application of fines for the sale and consumption of alcohol.
- Develop communication action and campaigns
- Work to achieve public safety in nightlife areas
- Prevent discrimination and eradicate sexist violence towards women
- Coordinate and consolidate mediation services and conflict management
- Foster joint responsibility
- Work on the care and cleanliness of public space
- Promote healthy and attractive leisure (quality leisure)
- Promote deconcentration (local leisure)
- Promote the night-time perspective as a model of governance