APRIL | TRENDING
Sexual harassment at festivals
Sexual harassment and assault has long
been a shadow looming over festivals. A
YouGov survey in 2018 revealed that one
in five festivalgoers had been sexually
harassed or assaulted at a festival, with this
figure jumping to 43 per cent for those who
were female and under 40
Words: Olivia Powell
T
he most common unwanted
sexual behaviour faced by the
festivalgoers was reportedly
‘unwelcome and forceful dancing’. The
survey of 1,188 people also revealed that
just 2% of those who had been assaulted
or harassed had reported it to police.
It was also at a festival that Gina
Martin faced sexual harassment in the
form of ‘upskirting’ – where a picture
is taken of the victim’s underwear or
genitals via the perpetrator pointing
their phone/camera up the skirt of the
victim. Upskirting was made a crime in
2019.
The epidemic is not just contained
to the UK, with examples including
the cancellation of Bravalla, Sweden’s
biggest music festival, in 2018 following
a number of sexual assaults including a
rape reported at the festival in 2016 and
2017, and widespread sexual harassment
and assaults in Cochella in 2018.
However, the live events industry is
working hard in order to prevent sexual
harassment and assault.
One such measure is the Respect
campaign launched by the National
Outdoor Events Association (NOEA)
20
with the Equalities and Human Rights
Commission (EQHRC), which aims to
prevent sexual harassment and assault
at events. The campaign has developed a
tool similar to a risk assessment, which
organisers or contractors/suppliers
can use to plan how they would reduce
and address sexual harassment at their
event. Whilst it is a work in progress,
NOEA is engaging with venues and
other event organisations to test
it, improve it and make it work for
everyone across the industry.
Another excellent initiative is Safe
Gigs for Women (SGFW), which was
established by those who regularly
attended live music events, with the
aim of creating a safer environment for
women. SGFW works with attendees to
live music events to inform them about
what sexual assault/harassment is, why
it is not okay, and encouraging others
to advocate on the behalf of victims to
encourage them to speak out and show
that sexual harassment/assault should
not be tolerated. It also works with
venues, to ensure they have the proper
measures in place to prevent and stop
sexual harassment, to make sure the
issue is taken seriously, and to create an
industry standard nationwide for venues
against sexual assault/harassment.
SGFW then plan to campaign to get the
industry standard adopted across the
UK.
The initiative also works with bands
to encourage them to get their audiences
on board and encourage them to speak
out against sexual harassment/assault.
With initiatives like these, there is
hope that sexual harassment and assault
can be eradicated at live events and
festivals.
If you have been affected by the issues
in this article, visit https://rapecrisis.org.
uk for information and support.