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Safety and Security: the freedom and opportunity to participate without fear or harm

Feeling unsafe constrains the freedom and opportunity to fully participate. Participation must be without coercion, without fear of reprisal or retaliation, and without threat.

Safety and security encompass physical, environmental, psychological and political aspects. This includes feeling able to safely participate as a collective as well as an individual, given that in some contexts collective identities and action are under threat. Safety and security are not only the freedom from threat, but also the real opportunity for participation (INSPIRE

Safe(r) Spaces Deliverable D3.2, forthcoming; Hussein 2025) afforded by material resources and socioeconomic conditions (e.g. shelter, income, health, education). No participatory space can be completely shielded from structural and power relations, but intentional design and facilitation can enable participatory spaces to feel safer (INSPIRE Safe(r) Spaces Deliverable D3.2, forthcoming). Safety and security enable participants to take risks and pursue contestation through participatory processes. Ultimately, a safe and secure foundation for participation underpins the freedom and opportunity for full participation in democratic life.

Downstream Enablers of Safety and Security in INSPIRE

„ Appropriate and accessible topics and activities help people feel secure and comfortable. In the UK pilot, it was important for the young people that the topics and activities were comfortable and they didn’t feel pressured into discussing things that were uncomfortable for them.

„ Safe spaces are multifaceted, encompassing inclusive facilitation, cultural support, thoughtful organisation and ethical facilitation (Bussu 2025: 2). Safety and security may require enclave deliberation for marginalised groups, or specific approaches for navigating power with external actors, or both (Abdullah et al 2016; Afsahi 2020).