On Saturday came the shocking announcement that four reports of rape and 23 sexual assault reports had been made at Bråvalla, one of Sweden’s largest music festivals.
The music festival has been cancelled in 2018 due to the overwhelming number of reports police received from the four-day festival.
According to The Guardian, one of the women said she had changed her mind about having sex with a man but was forced into the act.
“Certain men … apparently cannot behave. It’s a shame,” Bråvalla’s organiser said.
As the BBC reports, the incidences of sexual assaults were high at last year’s event, as well as at other music events in the UK.
Following on from the news, Swedish radio presenter and comedian Emma Knyckare came up with the ingenious idea of establishing a female-only music festival.
“What do you think about putting together a really cool festival where only non-men are welcome, that we’ll run until ALL men have learned how to behave themselves?” she tweeted.
After a wave of support, Knyckare confirmed on Instagram that her suggestion would be going ahead.
“Sweden’s first man-free rock festival will see the light next summer,” she posted.
“In the coming days I’ll bring together a solid group of talented organisers and project leaders to form the festival organisers, then you’ll hear from everyone again when it’s time to move forward.”
Australian music festivals have taken a number of steps to help create safer environments for women after similarly alarming incidences, The Sydney Morning Herald reports. Victoria’s Rainbow Serpent Festival established a “safe space” attended by counsellors trained by Victorian Centres Against Sexual Assault, while Laneway Festival introduced a national safety hotline.
