FEATURE:
Come Together
PHOTO CREDIT: Alexander Krivitskiy/Pexels
Why There Needs to Be Unity Regarding Women’s Safety and Rights in Music
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I have written a feature….
PHOTO CREDIT: MART PRODUCTION/Pexels
about this subject before. In fact, I have written a few features on it. I don’t think that we have had a fully-fledged and significant #MeToo movement in music. Rather than demanding justice for women who have reported sexual assault and harassment, it needs to go wider and deeper. There are so many issues to tackle. From venue car parks and exits not being properly lit and security-heavy – meaning women feel vulnerable -, through to continued imbalance regards festivals, and abuse that many women receive online, there is not too much being done. I have been speaking with Karen Whybro, who is a women’s safety consultant based in Brighton. Her mission is to make all public spaces, workplaces and online platforms safe for women. Whybro shared some of her insight and hopes. Safe Gigs for Women are an important organisation, as are Cactus City. It is not just about making women feel safer and less threatened. It is about inclusiveness and ensuring that there is parity. Karen Whybro explained how she trains night-time economy businesses in creating safe spaces so happy to help too if you want my perspective. Shed stated how festivals are woeful when it comes to adequate lighting and visible security. Latitude is one that she highlighted. Door staff at venues need to be more aware, engaged and conscious of dangers facing women. From lighting and security needs to be stepped up, through to CCTV and other safety measures being put in place, the current music landscape is not putting women first. There are a range of security foundations and organisations like Security Industry Federation (Daniel Garnham is the President). Safe Gigs is another organisation doing great work.
IMAGE CREDIT: Safe Gigs for Women
Protection for women extends far and wide. It is about their physical and mental safety. Ensuring they are not subjected to assault, rape, or online abuse and harassment. The trouble is that most of the time it is women speaking up for themselves and not getting support from many men in the industry. Looking around, and I can see Fabric launched a campaign highlighting anti-harassment a desire to make all women feel safe. I guess a movement that dealt with harassment and sexual assault combined with inequality and discrimination across the industry would be quite unwieldy and hard to draw together. This might be the last feature on the subject for a while. It occurs that some sort of unification does need to take place. I think men in the industry, whether they are journalist, artists or anyone else, are not as vocal and proactive when it comes to tackling difficult subjects which are still alive and well in music. It is concerning that there are still so many incidences of assault and abuse against women. Equality has not got close to being achieved through live music and in terms of the industry offering opportunities and platforms.
IN THIS PHOTO: Lily Allen
There are invaluable and essential websites and organisations that are trying to bring about awareness of a culture of sexual assault and harassment that needs to be challenged and ended. I shall finish with a view that there needs to be more input and conversation from men, in addition to a definitive and definite movement that mirrors and builds on Hollywood’s #MeToo. Last year, The Guardian published a feature exposing men in the industry who have been accused of sexual assault. As Tamanna Rahman wrote, the fact there has been no #MeToo movement might be because it is hard for women to speak out:
“One of the women interviewed in my first film was Kristen Knight, a DJ. She brought rape charges against the DJ and label owner Erick Morillo, and told me thatshe had initially reported what had happened to colleagues, but that many had shunned her rather than supporting her. Morillo was found dead of a drug overdose just days before he was due to face charges in court. Since his death, multiple women have come forward to make similar allegations.
In 2018 Lily Allen alleged in her book, My Thoughts Exactly, that she was the victim of a sexual assault by a music exec. Almost everybody who’s anybody in the industry thinks they know who Allen’s alleged assailant is, and that it’s someone still working in music. Even if they are wrong, the fact that so many people presume that there would have been no consequences for the accused following Allen’s allegation speaks volumes.
So what is the answer? After all, if it is right that people are innocent until proven guilty, then it follows that a person cannot have their livelihood destroyed on the basis of one allegation. It’s certainly tricky for a record label to sack them on that basis.
IN THIS PHOTO: Kristen Knight/PHOTO CREDIT: Mixmag
The problem is that many record labels do not even seem to try. If you are making your way into the industry, the likelihood is that you’ll work for an independent record label. If you’re assaulted by the owner of that company, or the artist, then who can you go to to complain? There are often no HR structures in place, and even where they do exist, which HR person is going to scrutinise their boss, or the person upon whom a sizeable proportion of the business model relies? And it’s a small world. If you rock the boat, women have told me, you’re labelled a troublemaker, and you may even find yourself frozen out of jobs in other companies. This lack of internal recourse can leave women with only two options: calling out their abuser in public, with all the attached risks, or staying quiet.
The responsibility should be even greater for the major record labels and respected music bodies, where there are HR systems in place. But I’ve been told by dozens of women that when they have made complaints to HR staff, the response has ranged from being gaslit, ignored, threatened with lawsuits, required to sign NDAs or quietly let go. In one example, a junior member of staff told me she had revealed that she had been raped the night before by one of the bosses, and the response from her manager was brief sympathy, but nothing more. In another, an investigation was called after allegations of inappropriate touching. The man in question was quietly shuffled out of the building and given a glowing reference in the music press with best wishes for his future. The woman says she was forced to sign an NDA. And so the cycle continues.
PHOTO CREDIT: GHI/Education Images/Universal Images Group/Getty Images via Rolling Stone
It is worth highlighting that all seven of the women who came forward to make allegations about Tim Westwood are black. They allege he abused his position and power to prey upon them – in fact, the subtitle of the film is Abuse of Power. If a white woman feels a lack of support among her peers and seniors when making allegations of sexual misconduct, their testimony suggests the issue is compounded for black and brown women, who often have to work even harder to make it in the industry.
Music may not have had its #MeToo moment, but those in the industry are increasingly coming together to support one another. There are more female execs, more female-owned ventures, and greater awareness of what is and isn’t acceptable behaviour. Last month, former Atlantic A&R executive Dorothy Carvello launched her foundation, Face the Music Now, to provide a safe space for women to report their abuse and to help them find legal counsel. And it’s not just women. Many of the people I’ve spoken to are men fed up of seeing their colleagues experience abuse, only to then be minimised and dismissed”.
With all the amazing small organisations and crucial resources out there, there could be this unified cause and movement that brings them together and helps to launch a committed and dedicated movement that aims to end sexual assault and harassment within the industry. I also wanted to mention the essential Consent Coalition. You can follow them @ConsentInNotts. Their mission statement is: “The Consent Coalition is made up of 20 Nottingham-based statutory and voluntary sector organisations who are specialists in the sexual violence field. We are working together to raise awareness on the importance of consent, challenge myths about rape and sexual violence, and encourage victims-survivors to access support and report”. Their incredible campaign asks some important questions: “Do you know what sexual consent means? Do you know how to get consent? Do you know why is it important to understand consent? At the Consent Coalition we know how important it is to educate each other and challenge myths and behaviours about consent and sexual violence…do you? The more you know, the more you can influence positive change, a culture of consent starts here. Click on the posters below to find out more about our consent campaigns”. Even though thewy are based in Nottinghamshire and there is a particular focus on the local area, their objectives, crucial work and campaigns should be a template fore the music industry. I know there are similar organisations and support networks like Consent Coalition, yet there is an opportunity for the music industry to collaborate.
IMAGE CREDIT: Consent Coalition
There needs to be discussion between men as to why we are still seeing so many cases. Information and resources widely and easily available so those within the industry (and gig-goers and music fans). I know there are a lot of issues and problems within the industry to tackle. I am aware that sexual harassment, assault and rape does not only apply to men. Shockingly, in the past week or so, we heard about Lizzo and accusations made against her by dancers who alleged fat-shaming and sexual assault. When stories against artists or those in the music industry break - whether is is Lizzo, slowthai, Tim Westwood or someone else -, there is a lot of discussion on social media. News and music website articles will provide links. Whether that is fore the NHS, Rape Crisis England & Wales, Safeline, Crisis Text Line, or links to Musicians’ Union and reports on sexual harassment in music industry, there is a lot of information out there, yet not a worldwide campaign and motion that utilises this and leads to changes. If Hollywood’s #MeToo movement encouraged discussion and a need for change rather than a definitive end to sexual assault and harassment, there have been some positive changes. It is definitely the case that the music industry has not experienced the same sort of progress and shift as in Hollywood. I see on social media how so many women feel unsafe or threatened. Those who have experienced sexual assault and harassment. With women almost solely calling for change, highlighting music’s darker side, and sharing their experiences, there needs to be more input and conversation for men. Standing up in support! A music #MeToo movement can only start, succeed and endure when we all…
COME together.