Does Safe Zone training actually create safe zones?
The Safe Zone Project is a great resource for folks with interest in increasing their awareness of LGBTQIA+ terms and issues, but is it great for everyone?
The simple answer is no, but we’ll get to that. So, what is the Safe Zone Project? Founded in 2013, by Meg Bolger and Sam Killermann, the Safe Zone Project, or SZP, is a free, volunteer-run, online resource center that is used by organizations (colleges, businesses, etc.) to increase awareness about LGBTQIA+ topics. I’m keeping the focus on higher education institutions for the purpose of this article. The SZP is a fantastic (did I mention it’s free!) resource. The website has links to resources such as readings, videos, other organizations, handouts, facilitation guides, vocabulary, etc. The SZP is part of a larger social justice collective called hues.
My first introduction to Safe Zone was at my undergraduate institution during one of my first training sessions as a new Resident Assistant (RA). I was deep in the pits of learning who I was and trying to identify what being queer meant to me. All RAs were required to take Safe Zone training to learn some basic terminology regarding the LGBTQIA+ community. Personally, I loved it. I was finally able to put words to things I had been experiencing for years. I could tell that many of my fellow RAs were uncomfortable during our Safe Zone training, but I think it was really important for us to learn about issues our students would be experiencing. This is where I found my passion working with college students and eventually changed my entire career trajectory to continue working with students. When I arrived at a new position at a new school, I was confused when my coworkers told me that Safe Zone was something the school did not do.
In my experience, anyone who went through the Safe Zone trainings would be given a Safe Zone sticker (with the logo above) indicating completion of the training. At my undergraduate university, it was expected that this sticker would be displayed for students to see (on room door for RAs or office door for faculty/staff). The goal here was to show students that a person with this sticker provided a ‘safe zone’ for the student to be themselves and talk about issues regarding the LGBTQIA+ community.
Here’s where we run into problems. Many departments on campus required full time staff and student employees to complete this training. Safe Zone fell into the trap of required diversity trainings that don’t work. Exposing people to new ideas in diversity trainings is useful, but it doesn’t change somebody’s worldview overnight. Required diversity trainings are disguised as a public good when they are actually companies just trying to avoid liability in discrimination lawsuits. Requiring somebody to participate in a diversity training is not going to make them appreciate diversity. While some people might find the training interesting and impactful (like me in that fateful RA training session), others are going to remain unchanged. At best, some folks might be annoyed they “wasted” an hour in a training. At worst, it could mean providing a bigoted person with more vocabulary to attack minoritized people.
I’ve had professors who are “Safe Zone certified” but consistently reinforced gender norms and homophobic attitudes in the classroom. “But they had the SZP sticker on their door, shouldn’t they be a safe zone?” That’s the point of this whole piece. Taking one training on LGBTQIA+ issues does not make that person a safe space. Encouraging each participant to display that sticker when they aren’t ready to genuinely support students in need is just a way we continue to marginalize LGBTQIA+ students. It is irresponsible to tell our LGBTQIA+ students to look for that SZP sticker when searching for support knowing that we can’t guarantee the person connected to the sticker is a genuine or forced ally.
Up to this point, I’ve approached this from a standpoint of potential harm to LGBTQIA+ students. However, I work in a higher education setting and can’t help but wonder how this SZP sticker situation would appear from a university standpoint. What does it say about the culture of the institution if only certain people are “safe” to approach? If a student walks into a “safe zone,” are we outing the student? I don’t have the answers or a solution.
I want to be clear — I’m absolutely not trashing Safe Zone. I’m also not saying that there shouldn’t be diversity trainings. I believe the SZP is a great resource and I share it with my fellow queer friends, family, students, and allies. I’m critiquing its application. Requiring people to become ‘safe zones’ (who are not ready to take on the responsibility of supporting students with LGBQTIA+ concerns) is a liability for the wellbeing of our LGBTQIA+ students. I still have my Safe Zone sticker from years ago, but I now recognize the harm that symbol was and is capable of. I see why my current university does not provide Safe Zone trainings (there are alternatives, of course). If your institution requires Safe Zone trainings and makes all “trained” individuals visible to students, I encourage you to reconsider the unintended impact you could be having on the LGBTQIA+ students and the university as a whole.
