Member Feature: The Standard
Our latest Member Feature is now live, featuring Frances Shillito, Founder of The Standard: specialist safeguarding and safety training built for the music and events industry. In the Q&A, Frances shares more about The Standard’s first full Safer Spaces session for Teletech, the growing demand for accountability across the industry, and her work on the AFEM Code of Conduct and with DJ Rebekah and CIISA.
1. Share a milestone or achievement for which your company is particularly proud.
Delivering our first full Safer Spaces training session for Teletech earlier this year was a real milestone. I equipped their entire team with the knowledge, frameworks and confidence to respond when something happens at their events, covering safeguarding, anti-sexual assault, consent and trauma-informed response. Every attendee left with a certificate of completion and a set of practical resources they can use immediately. Seeing the engagement in that room, particularly from male staff members, was genuinely moving. That session showed us exactly why The Standard exists.
2. Name one trend in electronic music that is shaping your current business strategy.
The growing demand for accountability within our industry. Artists, attendees and staff are no longer willing to accept that harassment and assault are just part of the culture. Organisations are increasingly recognising that having a genuine safeguarding framework in place is not just the right thing to do, it’s becoming an expectation. The Standard exists to meet that moment and help organisations turn good intentions into real, practical change.
3. Does your company collaborate with other industry stakeholders to drive growth and opportunities within the electronic music community? And if so, how and who?
Collaboration is at the heart of what we do. I have contributed to the AFEM Code of Conduct Against Sexual Harassment and Gender Discrimination, worked alongside DJ Rebekah on her MeToo campaign, and partner with CIISA, the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority, as the industry works to establish proper regulatory frameworks. I also work closely with Help Musicians as a Business Advisor, supporting emerging artists in building sustainable careers. Every collaboration is rooted in the same belief: a safer industry is a better industry for everyone in it.
4. What does it mean for you to be a member of AFEM?
It means being part of the community that I believe is best placed to drive real change in the electronic music industry. AFEM represents the people and organisations who shape this world and getting safety, safeguarding and accountability onto that agenda at the highest level is exactly what The Standard is here to do. I’m incredibly proud to be a member and excited about what we can build together.
5. One project, collaboration, or initiative you’re currently working on that you’re particularly excited about.
Without giving too much away just yet, I am currently undertaking some specialist professional training that will significantly deepen the work that I and CIISA do in supporting the creative industries around safety and survivor care. It’s something I’m incredibly passionate about and I can’t wait to share more very soon. Watch this space!
Frances’s answers describe an industry that increasingly expects a real safeguarding framework, and a company built to give teams the knowledge and confidence to use one when something happens at their events. We’re glad to have The Standard in the AFEM community, and grateful for Frances’s contribution to our Code of Conduct.