safe space

noun

Definition of safe space

: a place (as on a college campus) intended to be free of bias, conflict, criticism, or potentially threatening actions, ideas, or conversations

… student volunteers put up posters advertising that a "safe space" would be available for anyone who found the debate too upsetting.
—Judith Shulevitz

Women, sexual assault victims, people of color, transgender students. College campuses have created "safe spaces" for all sorts of marginalized groups.
—Catherine Rampell

Recent Examples of safe space from the Web

Finally, in May, 1938, construction began in earnest to create a safe space to house the heads of the military; the structure became fully operational on August 27, 1939, one week before Britain and France declared war on Germany.

— jackie mansky, Smithsonian, "Go Behind the Glass of Churchill’s Underground War Rooms," 22 Aug. 2017
The patients of Shriners Hospitals need pediatric orthopedic care, so when the narrow sidewalks or porch steps preclude trick-or-treaters with muscle or bone issues, the party experts at Shriners step in to provide a safe space.

— stephanie yao long, OregonLive.com, "Shriners Hospital dresses up for Halloween (photos)," 31 Oct. 2017
Maddox's after-school program Future Ties provides a free, safe space for more than 100 children in grades K-5 to learn, grow and succeed.

— cnn staff, CNN, "Meet the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2017," 2 Nov. 2017
Another option is prolonged exposure therapy, which guides patients through reminders of a traumatic event in a safe space, and encourages them to engage with those memories and work through them rather than avoiding them, Resick says.

— korin miller, SELF, "We Asked Trauma Therapists How to Deal With Triggering News Headlines About Sexual Assault," 12 Oct. 2017
Instagram has taken many steps to create a safe space for its users.

— kate friedman, Glamour, "This New Instagram Feature Helps Users Dealing With Mental Health Issues," 26 Sep. 2017
The Labour party’s surprisingly strong showing in this year’s snap election was due to the way that Labour was a safe space for left-leaning Brexiteers and Remainers.

— michael brendan dougherty, National Review, "Brexit Is Still Alive, after Theresa May Affirms It in Florence," 23 Sep. 2017
In her piece, Levinson framed frexting as an act of female empowerment, a way for women to affirm their sexuality in a safe space.

— e. j. dickson, The Cut, "When Men Workshop Their Dick Pics," 22 Sep. 2017
That's not to say that the Emmys would have been a safe space for our president.

— daniel fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, "69th Primetime Emmy Awards: TV Review," 18 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'safe space.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.