Luisa is here: No place for sexual harassment

By asking the question ‘Is Luisa here?’, people in unpleasant situations, for example when partying or in other areas of public space, can turn to the staff and receive immediate and discreet help. Locations in numerous cities are participating in the Germany-wide campaign. ‘We launched the concept in Nuremberg in 2018 and were able to gain 25 partners by the start of the pandemic,’ reports Annalena Reber, project manager at frauenBeratung. ‘At the end of 2023, we started the second attempt and have since brought large and important cooperation partners on board.’ - including NürnbergMesse.

Together with the women's counselling service, the police and its service partners, NürnbergMesse is adapting the successful concept for its events. From the start of BIOFACH 2025, "Luisa" will be used at all events in the exhibition centre. People experiencing an unpleasant situation can ask the service staff at the exhibition centre "Is Luisa here?". Without having to explain themselves, they can then be accompanied by staff to one of the newly established "Safer Spaces". In these rooms, those affected will find materials to calm them down and reduce tension. Those affected also receive information on further support options. "Those affected decide what to do next after crossing the line", says Annalena Reber.

The awareness campaign is based on problem awareness and a culture of respect, which NürnbergMesse has also laid down in its ‘Code of Conduct’. NürnbergMesse has informed a large group of service partners specifically about Luisa and trained employees in catering, cloakrooms and security.

To this end, posters with QR codes will be put up in high-traffic areas. ‘We aim to educate, sensitise and prevent,’ says Simon Wagner from Security Management at NürnbergMesse, "sexual harassment and discrimination must have no place at our trade fairs and congresses. Everyone should feel comfortable with us."

Sabine Böhm-Burmann, managing director of frauenBeratung knows that women are usually the victims of discrimination and sexual harassment: "Sexualised assaults, sexist behaviour and threats are unfortunately not isolated cases. Far too often, women avoid certain places or locations because they have had bad experiences there and, above all, have not received any support." In Nuremberg, between 600 and 800 women and girls aged 16 and over seek support from the women's counselling service every year.

Annalena Reber emphasises that men also have a duty: "Silence protects the perpetrators. In their social environment and also in their behaviour, men need to be more aware of assaults and boundary violations against women and girls, not laugh at sexist jokes and intervene or offer support."

‘At NürnbergMesse, people take centre stage,’ says the ‘Code of Conduct’ of NürnbergMesse: ‘We do not tolerate discrimination or harassment of employees, business partners, customers or other stakeholders.’ With its bright pink posters and trained employees, the Luisa campaign helps to make this conviction visible everywhere on the exhibition grounds.