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Sweden To Hold ‘Man-Free’ Music Festival Next Year

After multiple reports of sexual assault at BrĂ¥valla

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.

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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. 

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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.

https://twitter.com/Knyckare/status/881563265414955008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.independent.co.uk%2Farts-entertainment%2Fmusic%2Fnews%2Fsweden-music-festival-men-female-only-bravalla-rape-sexual-assault-emma-knyckare-a7824366.html
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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.

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