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Swedish Comedian Organizes 2018 Music Festival For ‘Non-Men’ Only After Rape Rampage

REUTERS/Matej Leskovsek

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In light of cancellation of the 2018 Bråvalla music festival in Sweden due to multiple rapes and sexual assaults at this year’s festival, Swedish comedian Emma Knyckare is organizing a “man-free” music festival for next year.

Days after the announcement that the 2018 festival was canceled, Knyckare took to Twitter and tweeted, “What do you think about putting together a really cool festival where only non-men are welcome?”

Regardless of increased efforts against violence in 2016 where five rapes and 14 cases of sexual assault were reported, three rapes and 22 sexual assaults were reported at this year’s festival.

Folkert Koopmans, the founder of Bråvalla Festival, stated in a press release that, “I’ve had enough. Violence kills the festival experience, the love for music and, beyond anything else, it hurts people.” Koopmans went onto say that “some men – because we are talking about men – apparently can’t behave. It’s a shame.”

Although Koopmans and Knyckare contend that the general population of men are the root of the problem, media outlets that obtained access to police reports about the crimes said that they mentioned young Afghans as the perpetrators.

The police reports have yet to be released to the public. This is not the first time the Swedish police have been accused of concealing and covering up sexual assaults at music festivals because they were committed by foreign nationals.

What’s more, Knyckare maintains that banning men is not unfair. “Since it seems to be OK to discriminate against women all the time, maybe it’s OK to shut out men for three days? I would not exactly call it an abuse not to come to the festival,” she said in an interview with Sweden’s Aftonbladet.

The notion of designated “man free” areas at music festivals is not new. Just last year, the Glastonbury music festival in the U.K. introduced its first ever women’s only venue called The Sisterhood. This venue was also inclusive to those of “intersectional, queer, trans and disabled” persons.

“The producers of The Sisterhood believe that women-only spaces are necessary in a world that is still run by and designed to benefit mainly men,” organizers said.

A day after her tweet, Knyckare confirmed plans that “Sweden’s first man-free rock festival will see the light next summer” and that “in the coming days I’ll bring together a solid group of talented organizers and project leaders to form the festival organizers, then you’ll hear from everyone again when it’s time to move forward.”

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Tags : rape sweden
Amanda Tidwell