Abstract:Recent media reporting has highlighted that incidents of sexual violence frequently occur at live music events. Sexual violence has significant impacts on the health of those who experience it, yet little is known of how it impacts on everyday engagements with music, nor what measures venues and promoters might take to prevent and respond to incidents. Through interviews with concert goers, venue managers, promoters and campaigning groups, we investigated experiences of sexual violence at indie, rock, punk and… Show more
“…More broadly, this experience also demonstrates how the selective liberalism and tolerance of carnivalesque events can be drawn on to disregard sexually aggressive practices. As a result of this experience, Nerida changed her outfit and felt ‘on guard’ and, in part, culturally excluded for the rest of the festival (see also Barnes & White, 2019; Hill, Hesmondhalgh, & Megson, 2019).…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…This delay in recognition can mirror the suspension of time and understanding that can occur at festivals, with some participants suggesting they wanted to forget or quickly move on from an incident to remain immersed in the festival. In other words, a desire to remain immersed in the pleasure and transgression of the festival environment – something that has been identified as a highly valued aspect of participating in live music events (see Hill et al., 2019) – necessitates a delay in processing or acknowledging that sexual violence has occurred. For both Camilla and Penny, the temporal delay in processing and labelling their experiences as constituting a form of violence meant that by the time this recognition occurred, there was little that could be done in terms of identifying and reporting the perpetrator.…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…(Helen)The density and flow of bodies in the mosh pit and other performance spaces often both facilitates and conceals offending. The assemblage of sweaty, dancing, oscillating bodies jammed into limited space, combined with the almost complete focus on the act on stage (see also Hill et al., 2019), can provide further cover for perpetrators. Indeed, the expectation of physical touch and corporeal entanglement in this space can function as a barrier to reporting (as Camilla’s experience, discussed earlier, illustrated), creating a level of ambiguity as to ‘what happened’ and the intention of such acts (Barnes & White, 2019).…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The generally poor response received by those who did report points to the need to train festival staff, volunteers, security and police in order to minimise the potential for retraumatising or victim-blaming responses (such as that experienced by Nerida). Festival management could then actively communicate to patrons that these groups have been trained to respond with care, all reports will be taken seriously and this protocol is industry standard (see also Hill et al., 2019). Given the divergence in experiences and preferences, festival management may benefit from developing a range of reporting options, and victim-led responses to reflect both the range of ways that sexual violence manifests, and survivors’ needs post-incident.…”
Despite the well-documented under-reporting of sexual violence, to date, no research has considered reporting practices within the specific context of music festivals. Drawing on 16 in-depth interviews with victim-survivors, this article examines survivors’ experiences of (non)reporting sexual violence in festival settings. We argue that while some barriers to reporting are shared across contexts, others play out in context-specific ways. Our research argues that the liberal, often transgressive culture of music festivals, combined with site-specific policing practices and spatial context, creates unique impediments to reporting with particular implications in responding to, and aiming to prevent, sexual violence at music festivals.
“…More broadly, this experience also demonstrates how the selective liberalism and tolerance of carnivalesque events can be drawn on to disregard sexually aggressive practices. As a result of this experience, Nerida changed her outfit and felt ‘on guard’ and, in part, culturally excluded for the rest of the festival (see also Barnes & White, 2019; Hill, Hesmondhalgh, & Megson, 2019).…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…This delay in recognition can mirror the suspension of time and understanding that can occur at festivals, with some participants suggesting they wanted to forget or quickly move on from an incident to remain immersed in the festival. In other words, a desire to remain immersed in the pleasure and transgression of the festival environment – something that has been identified as a highly valued aspect of participating in live music events (see Hill et al., 2019) – necessitates a delay in processing or acknowledging that sexual violence has occurred. For both Camilla and Penny, the temporal delay in processing and labelling their experiences as constituting a form of violence meant that by the time this recognition occurred, there was little that could be done in terms of identifying and reporting the perpetrator.…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…(Helen)The density and flow of bodies in the mosh pit and other performance spaces often both facilitates and conceals offending. The assemblage of sweaty, dancing, oscillating bodies jammed into limited space, combined with the almost complete focus on the act on stage (see also Hill et al., 2019), can provide further cover for perpetrators. Indeed, the expectation of physical touch and corporeal entanglement in this space can function as a barrier to reporting (as Camilla’s experience, discussed earlier, illustrated), creating a level of ambiguity as to ‘what happened’ and the intention of such acts (Barnes & White, 2019).…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The generally poor response received by those who did report points to the need to train festival staff, volunteers, security and police in order to minimise the potential for retraumatising or victim-blaming responses (such as that experienced by Nerida). Festival management could then actively communicate to patrons that these groups have been trained to respond with care, all reports will be taken seriously and this protocol is industry standard (see also Hill et al., 2019). Given the divergence in experiences and preferences, festival management may benefit from developing a range of reporting options, and victim-led responses to reflect both the range of ways that sexual violence manifests, and survivors’ needs post-incident.…”
Despite the well-documented under-reporting of sexual violence, to date, no research has considered reporting practices within the specific context of music festivals. Drawing on 16 in-depth interviews with victim-survivors, this article examines survivors’ experiences of (non)reporting sexual violence in festival settings. We argue that while some barriers to reporting are shared across contexts, others play out in context-specific ways. Our research argues that the liberal, often transgressive culture of music festivals, combined with site-specific policing practices and spatial context, creates unique impediments to reporting with particular implications in responding to, and aiming to prevent, sexual violence at music festivals.
“…A good example of what this might look like in practice comes from attempts to address the issue of sexual harassment at music festivals. This is a hidden risk to health and well‐being (Fileborn et al., 2020; Hill, Hesmondhalgh, & Megson, 2020), and various campaign groups (e.g., Safe Gigs for Women) now work with festival organizers and performers to promote the message that harassment is counternormative to the ethos of music festivals. For example, the Safe Gigs for Women website carries an interview with a performer (Sam Carter of the Architects ) who advanced a definition of music festival culture which celebrated freedom of expression and censured acts of harassment that exploited such expression: Live music shows are a place of expression; people use music as an escape and a place of empowerment and being around those who share the same ideals as you.…”
Section: Policy Implications (2): Working Towards Behavior Changementioning
Mass gatherings are routinely viewed as posing risks to physical health. However, social psychological research shows mass gathering participation can also bring benefits to psychological well-being. We describe how both sets of outcomes can be understood as arising from the distinctive forms of behavior that may be found when people-even strangers-come to define themselves and each other in terms of a shared social identity. We show that many of the risks and benefits of participation are products of group processes; that these different outcomes can have their roots in the same core processes; and that knowledge of these process provides a basis for health promotion interventions to mitigate the risks and maximize the benefits of participation. Throughout, we offer practical guidance as to how policy makers and practitioners should tailor such interventions. Mass gatherings take many forms: large-scale religious pilgrimages (e.g., the hajj), sporting events (e.g., the World Cup), music festivals (e.g., Glastonbury), regional and national commemorative events (e.g., St Patrick's Day celebrations), etc. Some are short-lived, others span days, even weeks. Some attract a few thousand, others, hundreds of thousands. Perhaps the most striking of all are the Kumbh Mela and the Magh Mela, each of which attract millions of Hindu pilgrims to the banks of the Ganga (north India) for a full month (Buzinde, Kalavar,
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