WATCH: A social media campaign, inspired by the #SafeRedMile hashtag, is gaining ground this Stampede. Online reporter Erika Tucker has the details.
WARNING: This post contains language some readers may find offensive. Discretion is advised.
CALGARY – It’s been three months since Calgary streets were filled with a Flames-inspired sea of party-goers, but the stories of sexually-charged street harassment and obscene pranks are still fresh in the minds of some residents, who don’t want to see a repeat this week at Stampede. And so, another campaign has been born out of #SafeRedMile for the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth: #SafeStampede.
“#SafeRedMile was when the Flames were in the playoffs, and it was very effective in really talking about some of the less positive experiences that people had on the Red Mile,” said Pam Krause, president and CEO of the Calgary Sexual Health Centre.
“Some women got together, talked about repeating that with #SafeStampede, and a lot of the work at Calgary Sexual Health Centre is around issues like consent, so we proudly helped with the campaign.”
Along with the hashtag, the campaign consists of a website with information about sexual harassment, consent and links to resources for support. There’s also a Tumblr account, where you can submit a story of sexual harassment during Stampede week.
The campaign has been endorsed on Twitter by the official event account, Mayor Naheed Nenshi and Stampede CEO Warren Connell.
Despite the support, the official account was already addressing claims of bad behaviour within the first five hours of Stampede:
Erika Stark, a reporter at the Calgary Herald who spoke about her negative experiences with street harassment during the Flames playoffs, posted the most-shared image related to #SafeStampede so far. It involves a screengrab of a Reddit thread in which a user describes a bet he has with friends in which whoever can “smash the most + the hottest sloots” wins a pot of money.
Krause said the goal of the #SafeStampede initiative is to raise awareness for the role everyone can play in creating a safe environment amid all the partying.
“There’s lots of sexual harassment that does occur, so we want to give voice to that, but we also want to remind people that everyone can play a role in helping not have that be a focus of Stampede. … It also gives a great opportunity to open up a conversation about consent, because that’s a very important part of our feelings about what Stampede should be.”
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