Personal safety

Festivals are the place to let your hair down and enjoy yourself but let’s make sure it stays a good time. Part of the fun of a festival is the unexpected, but a little bit of planning will help you have a good time and stay safe.

You’ve got your tickets, you just need to pack a bag and jump on the train.

You’re ready - aren’t you?

Top 10 tips on staying safe at a festival

1. Never leave your drink unattended – even soft drinks can be spiked with drugs or alcohol
2. Enjoy meeting new people but remember they are strangers so be aware of trusting them with anything valuable or being alone with them.
3. Stick to well-lit busy areas
4. Stay cool and hydrated – it’s important to drink plenty of water, especially whilst drinking alcohol under the blazing sun
5. Practice safe sex – Practice safe sex so you don’t catch an STI. The best way to look after your sexual health is to use condoms, be prepared and take them with you.
6. Learn your way around – it is important to know where the toilets are, first aid, food stalls, bar, camping and chill out areas.
7. Download online tools – access to good information can be hard to get when you’re not at home
8. Have a buddy system – have a system to look after yourself and a friend
9. Visit the medical tent if required – Medical tents offer free health care, don’t be scared to visit if you or a friend are feeling unwell.
10. Party Safe – Don’t mix alcohol or other drugs, you can’t know how they will react with each other.

For further information on how to stay safe see web pages below.

Don’t be a # FESTIVALFAIL.

Further support

Getting ready for a night out is exciting, you have planned what to wear, who you are going with and where you are going. It is important that you stay safe when out an about so here are a few pointers for you to think about:

1. Be Prepared
   • Make sure you know how you’re getting home (and if you’re getting a taxi, make sure you budget for it). Double check you have everything you need (e.g. keys and phone) and try and stash some extra money on your person in case you lose your purse/wallet.
   • Also, use a trustworthy taxi service - never get into a taxi you haven’t pre-booked.
2. Stay hydrated
   • Alcohol dehydrates you - one of the main reasons you feel rotten the next day. Have a glass of water before you have alcohol and alternate alcoholic drinks with water or a soft drink. 
3. Keep an eye on your drinks
   • When you’re having fun, it can be easy to forget the simple things, like making sure your drink is safe. It only takes a second for someone to slip something into your drink when you’re not looking.
   • Try and keep your drink in your hand or in eyesight at all times.
4. The ‘beer jacket’ is a myth, so remember to wrap up warm
   • Alcohol dilates the blood vessels near your skin, which means more blood (and heat) flows to these vessels. This takes blood and heat away from the core of your body. So your skin is warm but your organs aren’t as warm as you might think they are - which puts you at risk of hypothermia that starts setting in when your body temperature drops by two degrees.

Remember

Be careful the morning after a night out. If you drank a lot or finished drinking quite late, you could wake up with alcohol in your system - even if you feel fine.

Further support

It is important to ensure that you a safe when out and about to avoid difficult or unpleasant situations that may affect you both physically and emotionally.

So here are some tips to help keep you safe:

1. Stay alert when using your mobile: It's easy to get lost in chats or when texting - don't switch off and keep an eye out for what's going on around you.
2. Avoid wearing headphones: If you're in situations or areas where you may not be safe, pack your headphones away to keep your mind in focus.
3. Be discreet with money: Avoid using a cashpoint at night and don't let people see your PIN. Have a friend watch your back if possible and find a different machine if you see someone suspicious hanging around.
4. Carry a personal alarm: Be prepared to use it – its purpose is to shock and baffle an attacker, giving you extra seconds to get away from the situation.
5. Stick to busy and well-lit places: Avoid underpasses and walking alone at night if you can.

Further support

The internet and digital world are an amazing platform in which we can find information, connect with friends as well as a whole host of other uses,

With the Digital world is ever changing and the risks are not always known so it is important to keep yourself safe when you are online.

Some things to remember when online are:

1. Watch your back
   • Whenever you're about to post something online, pause and just imagine someone in authority, someone you respect, reading that post or looking at that photo.  If that feels uncomfortable, don't do it.
2. Got a nickname?
   • Think about using a nickname instead of your real name if you're signing up to a microblogging site like Twitter.
   • Consider setting up a separate, personal email account to use with social media sites, rather than using your work, or even your main personal email. Remember, only connect to people you know.
3. Check your settings
   • Use the privacy and security settings on social media sites so that only friends and family can see your pages.
   • Then speak to friends and family and encourage them to tighten their privacy settings too as they could affect you.
   • Even if your account is locked as private, personal information you have shared with others could still be accessed through their pages.
4. Mother's maiden name
   • Don't use your mother's real maiden name as a password or as a bank security answer.  It doesn't really matter whether you use the real one so make up a name that only you know.  Just make sure you remember it.
5. Guard personal information
   • Don't post any personal information- your address, email address or mobile number - publicly online. Just one piece of personal information could be used by a complete stranger to find out even more. If you want to include your birthday in your profile it's safer not to actually display it publicly - providing your full date of birth makes you more vulnerable to identity fraud
6. Photos and videos
   • Be careful about which photos and videos you share on social media sites - avoid photos of your home, work, school or places you're associated with.  Remember, once you've put a picture of yourself online, other people may be able to see it and download it - it may not just be yours anymore.
7. Check what's needed
   • Don't give out information online simply because it's asked for - think whether whoever is asking for it, really needs it. When you're filling in forms online, for example to register with a website or sign up for a newsletter, always provide the minimum information possible.
8. Direct message if you can
   • It's almost always possible to send a direct message or private message on social media platforms. If you're having a personal chat, this is the best option to go for - unless you don't mind sharing your conversation with millions of other users. Alternatively, send an email from a private account.
9. Delete old accounts
   • If you've stopped using a social media site or forum, then close your account down. There's no point in leaving personal information out there unnecessarily.
10. Get anti-virus software
    • Make sure you have anti-virus software installed on your computer and be careful what you download or install on your computer. (Webwise)

Further information