SAFER - A Framework for Building Safer Communities
Contents
About SAFER
About
SAFER is an idea I had in mid-2026 - a simple framework for helping create healthier, more accountable communities. The idea is a way to remember the most important priorities after an incident of sexual assault or serious consent violation, but I would love it to evolve into something broader: a philosophy for reducing harm before it happens, responding well when it does, and helping communities continuously improve.
The acronym stands for:
- S - Safety First
- A - Ask for Help
- F - Facts and Forensics
- E - Explore Your Options
- R - Reclaim Your Power
I came up with this while driving to work and realised everyone in Australia knows "Dr ABC" for resuscitating to save a life... but there isn't anything for post assault to keep you safe and then empower you to heal and protect others. The framework is intended to support survivors, educate event organisers, and encourage communities to create environments where consent is normal, accountability is expected, and healing is supported.
Like the Consent to Kiss campaign, SAFER is ultimately about changing social norms.
The SAFER Framework
S - Safety First
The immediate priority after any assault or serious consent violation is safety.
This may include:
- Getting away from the offender.
- Finding trusted friends.
- Alerting event organisers if appropriate.
- Seeking immediate medical attention if required.
Physical and emotional safety always comes before everything else.
A - Ask for Help
Nobody should have to navigate trauma alone.
Reach out to:
- trusted friends
- event welfare teams
- family
- counsellors
- crisis services
- police (if desired)
Asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness.
F - Facts and Forensics
If possible, preserve evidence before showering or washing clothing.
Consider:
- writing down everything you remember
- saving messages
- taking photographs where appropriate
- preserving clothing
- obtaining a forensic examination if desired
Everyone's situation is different. Survivors should be supported regardless of whether they choose to report.
E - Explore Your Options
Every survivor deserves choices.
These might include:
- medical treatment
- STI testing
- emergency contraception
- counselling
- restorative conversations
- event reporting
- police reporting
- legal advice
Recovery is not one-size-fits-all.
R - Reclaim Your Power
Healing takes time.
Many survivors eventually find strength through:
- therapy
- community
- advocacy
- education
- helping improve systems
- supporting others
Everyone's journey looks different.
Why I Created This
My work around consent has largely focused on prevention.
Through the Consent to Kiss campaign I have argued that many sexual violations could be prevented by changing social norms and encouraging consent conversations to begin much earlier.
The inspiration for SAFER came after an incident at Pranafest.
To be clear, this article is not intended as criticism of Pranafest. It remains one of my favourite festivals, and I believe the organisers genuinely care about creating a safe community. Like every community, however, difficult situations can still arise. What inspired me was seeing people trying to respond thoughtfully and recognising that communities benefit from having simple frameworks that everyone can remember.
That experience reinforced my belief that prevention and good responses must go hand in hand.
Connection to Conscious Speed Dating
While hosting Conscious Speed Dating events, consent became a recurring topic.
The overwhelming majority of participants behaved respectfully, but on a small number of occasions people crossed boundaries. In two cases, participants were removed from future events because their behaviour was incompatible with the kind of community we wanted to create.
One interaction especially stayed with me.
A participant joked about not wanting to use condoms. That conversation inspired the creation of a humorous pillow displaying the phrase:
Consent is Sexy — No Condom, No Entry
While playful, the message reflects a serious principle: healthy relationships are built on respect, communication and enthusiastic consent.
Sometimes humour helps difficult conversations become easier.
Relationship to RRR
Just after making this wiki page, an acquaintance on facebook pointed me to the Australian RRR - Recognise Respond Refer' framework, which stands for Recognise, Respond, Refer aimed at people who speak to survivors.
RRR is an excellent trauma-informed framework that teaches people how to respond when someone discloses domestic, family or sexual violence. It encourages people to recognise the signs, respond with empathy, and refer survivors to appropriate professional support. I see SAFER as complementary to RRR rather than a replacement for it!
Where RRR focuses on the important first conversation after a disclosure, SAFER explores some of the practical decisions survivors and communities often face afterwards, including immediate safety, preserving evidence, understanding available options, and supporting long-term healing and community improvement.
Together, the two frameworks encourage compassionate, survivor-centred responses while recognizing that creating safer communities requires both good immediate responses and ongoing cultural change.
A Philosophy, Not Just a Checklist
SAFER is not simply about what happens after something goes wrong.
It is about encouraging communities to ask:
- How do we make reporting easier?
- How do we support survivors better?
- How do we educate newcomers?
- How do we hold people accountable fairly?
- How do we reduce future harm?
No community is perfect.
The goal is not perfection.
The goal is continuous improvement.
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