The purpose of the braver space policy is to create practices that make people feel safe, encourage them to take responsibility for uncomfortable situations, and establish ways to improve difficult situations rather than simply tolerating them. The choice of the word “braver” rather than “safer” reflects the idea that collective action sometimes requires having difficult conversations, in which people in privileged positions in particular must question their own attitudes and ways of acting.
The braver space policy is a feminist method designed to help participants in the movement experience and create a sense of internal safety together. Everyone shares responsibility for this. When people can trust that their experience will be heard and valued, and that everyone is committed to shared rules, the community’s conflicts can be addressed constructively.
The aim is also to get people to reflect on their own interactions as members of the community. The braver space policy is significantly helpful in dismantling hierarchies and unequal situations within a group or community. This is also a way to create a sense of community in meetings: everyone is involved and responsible for creating the social space.
The braver space policy was developed based on safe space policy. Safe space has its roots in subcultures, particularly events for sexual minorities. These spaces were intended to ensure that participants could be themselves without fear of disapproving attitudes, curious stares, or outright violence. The policy consists of practices and methods aimed at creating a safe and respectful space and holding participants accountable for their own behavior.
Braver and/or safe space principles have also been criticized. Since shared space is defined through people’s mutual interaction, it is never possible to give completely universal guidelines about how someone’s personal boundaries are defined and when they are crossed. Space-related policies are themselves subcultural codes that take time to adopt. When some people are better at following shared rules and principles than others, this creates power structures and may exclude people accustomed to different social practices from participation.
The original idea of the policy as an inclusive and accountability-building method can also easily backfire: if principles and a safety team responsible for maintaining a safe space have been established for an event, some participants may leave problems for the safety team to handle instead of trying to address issues themselves.
Safe space principles can already promise too much at the naming level about the safety of a shared space that may not actually be achieved. Partly for this reason, in Elokapina too, the principles have been named “braver” rather than “safer.”
Braver Space Principles
There are many formulations of braver and safer space principles. Here are the versions formulated by Elokapina’s (the Finnish branch of Extinction Rebellion) anti-racism working group:
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Try to be aware of the assumptions you make and act without being guided by them. You cannot know another person’s experience, thoughts, life situation, or self-defined identity on their behalf. Discrimination can manifest as, but is not limited to, homophobia and transphobia, sexism, racism, age or class discrimination, or ability norms. Many assumptions are internalized and appear unconsciously in our language use, for example as gendering or other categorization of others. Since we make assumptions about others anyway, try to be aware of your own assumptions. Be open and listen.
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Try to be honest and respectful toward others. We are different, and we want to cherish that. The goal of discussions should be understanding diverse perspectives rather than consensus. However, offensive or discriminatory behavior or harassment does not need to be respected. Remember to respect your own and others’ boundaries and needs, as well as different bodily ways of being present.
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Make space. Try to pay attention to your own way of taking up space as well. Ensure that everyone is heard in discussions and can participate. On the other hand, dare to take up space: everyone’s thoughts matter.
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Do not harass anyone verbally, by touching, staring, or otherwise. Wait for clear consent. Stop or change your behavior if someone asks you to. Note that you cannot define someone else’s experience of harassment. If you notice harassment or inappropriate behavior, try to intervene when possible. Ask for help or support in problem situations when needed.
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Consider the impact of your participation. Take responsibility for your intentions and the effects of your actions. Try to be aware of your privileges in different situations.
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Do not generalize your own experience to apply to others. Try to recognize that people experience the same situations and events in different ways, and every experience is equally real and valuable. Let’s create space for multiple interpretations.
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Criticize ideas, not people. Do not bully others or attack anyone’s personal characteristics. If you experience someone’s behavior as aggressive, you can share your experience and ask others to take your needs into account.
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Try to communicate understandably. Use language that is as understandable as possible to those outside your own reference group. Explain the terms you use when necessary.
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Try to learn from criticism and treat yourself and others with compassion. Everyone makes mistakes – let’s try to learn from them together.
Demands
Principles and Values
Action Consensus
Frequently Asked Questions