Episode 28, Ashley Driscoll of GrooveSafe

“Everyone deserves to have fun at the shows”

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, but sexual assault is a very important conversation for us to have not only in April, but year round. With that being considered, I talked with GrooveSafe founder and president, Ashley Driscoll for this episode of the podcast. “The mission of this nonprofit is to create a no tolerance environment with an emphasis on building a consent culture,” says Driscoll. GrooveSafe focuses on educating bands, venues, and fans on tactics that aim to make the live music experience safer, with a focus on stopping unwanted touching and sexual assault at concerts.

In our conversation, Driscoll shares her experience that started this nonprofits’ mission and the effect it had on her love of concerts. That experience allowed her to channel those feelings into an effort to create a gender neutral movement to provide people an opportunity to feel seen and understood. Sexual assault is an uncomfortable and difficult subject to discuss, so the more we’re open to these conversations, more progress can be made.

Concerts and music festivals are meant to be joyous and welcoming spaces, but unfortunately, we still have a long way to go in creating environments rooted in consent culture. However, Ashley and her team are invested in making a change; their dedication and passion for this work is remarkable. Organizations like GrooveSafe make me hopeful for the future of the live music experience for all, and for music festivals.

Sharing a gentle reminder that this conversation might be triggering; stream conversation below.

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