Safe spaces came into existence to give people from a marginalised or persecuted group a way to meet, sometimes with political purposes, without having to defend themselves against prejudice or abuse. The first records of safe spaces refer to meetings in San Francisco to secretly organise for the decriminalisation of same-sex relationships. The term gained currency within the U.S. women\u2019s liberation movements of the 1960s and \u201870s.<\/p>\n
In universities they are intended to set up conditions for free and frank exchange of views, often related to social justice.<\/p>\n
In safe spaces, the wellbeing of the marginalised group takes precedence. However, critics of classroom safe spaces[1]<\/a> point out that students cannot be expected to share a common characteristic or political viewpoint, and therefore that safety tends to become confused with comfort and the absence of disagreement. In these circumstances, the social relations of privilege and marginalisation are unchallenged, and the status-quo remains untroubled. In response, Arao and Clemens[2]<\/a> reworked their safe space ground rules as new rules for \u2018brave spaces<\/strong>\u2019.<\/p>\n