OurMusicMyBody working to help combat sexual assault at music festivals, one booth at a time

July 13--At a recent Warped Tour stop, a woman stood in the crowd holding a sign that read, "Teen girls deserve respect, not gross jokes from disgusting old men! Punk shouldn't be predatory!"

On stage, frontman Leonard Graves Phillips of punk outfit the Dickies, unleashed a misogynistic, profanity-packed, sexually violent tirade at the woman -- calling on the crowd to join in on the harassment.

Reports of harassment and sexual assault at music festivals have been steadily increasing and are often overlooked because of the "temporary utopia" music festivals are thought to provide.

According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, two out of three sexual assaults go unreported, while women between the ages of 18-34 (the typical demographic frequenting festivals) are at a 54 percent higher risk of sexual violence.

Three percent of American males are survivors of rape, while 21 percent transgender, queer and gender-nonconforming students have experienced sexual violence.

Perpetrators of these acts are also less likely to serve time, with RAINN reporting that out of 1,000 rape cases, only six will be incarcerated.

You'd be hard-pressed to find enough people who actually look at this behavior as an actual issue without victim-blaming (well were you drinking?) or slut-shaming (were you dancing provocatively? what were you wearing?) someone.

Chicago hosts three major music festivals each season: Pitchfork, Lollapalooza and Riot Fest, in addition to more niche events -- like EDM-centric Spring Awakening, and locally-focused offshoots year-round.

Surely, no one wants to believe the bro walking around in the "Rape Your Face" T-shirt at Lollapalooza in 2015 (or the guy in the "Eat Sleep Rape Repeat" shirt at Coachella the same year) was actually perpetuating or enacting this behavior, right?

Of Chicago's big-budget offerings, Riot Fest was initially the only one with a written policy on harassment on its website.

Spring Awakening lists a "Celebrate Safe" team initiative, but sexual harassment and assault are not specifically mentioned.

"I do feel there's a fear that if festivals address sexual violence as something that's occurring, it's bad PR," says Rape Victim Advocates' Northside prevention educator, Kat Stuehrk. "But if you can have an alcohol policy or a strict policy around what you can bring in a bag, you can have a concentrated effort toward safety and I think fans want that."

RVA partnered with nonprofit, domestic violence agency Between Friends to develop the OurMusicMyBody campaign -- aiming to promote "fun and consensual music experiences for all." The campaign's efforts are directly responsible for Riot Fest's anti-harassment guidelines.

"Safety is our first responsibility to our patrons and want them to feel that Riot Fest takes that seriously," said Riot Fest creative director Jeremy Scheuch. "We will be coordinating with OMMB to talk with staff about proper procedures and coordinating with our security and support teams (like medical) about next steps should they hear about any issues between festgoers."

Scheuch added the festival plans to use social media to remind fans what is expected of them and to let them know organizers are listening and taking action if an issue arises.

When the Tribune reached out to Pitchfork and Lollapalooza for comment, representatives were quick to inform that harassment statements and safety pages were in the works.

On its website, Pitchfork's newly-released statement reads in-part, "The Festival believes everyone should feel safe during the event and works to ensure this. We will help maintain this by not tolerating harmful behaviors, which may include non-consensual touching or verbal harassment," -- adding that patrons should contact any festival staff member or security guard.

Lollapalooza also launched its "Safety" page, explicitly addressing sexual harassment and reminding all attendees "NO MEANS NO. No matter the situation, it is never ok without consent."

OurMusicMyBody's inaugural table at Pitchfork in 2016 drew over 500 visitors. This year, Stuehrk and campaign partner, Between Friends' prevention specialist Matt Walsh will have booths -- which will aid discussion as well as share information on additional resources and have an interactive arts feature -- at all three major festivals.

"Security can handle the drunk people or removing someone from the festival, but how are they practicing empathy or survivor focus?" Walsh says.

"It's about creating a culture shift and empowering people to know they can say something when they see this behavior and they'll be backed up by the community."

The more sexual harassment and assault is ignored as part of music festival culture, the more many believe it will become an accepted behavior. Walsh argues that when folks hear or see campaigns like OurMusicMyBody or policies around harassment, it's an opportunity for change, to create a new normal.

Walsh and Stuehrk know the number of security measures that would need to be implemented to stop all violations from happening is infinite, especially when many festivals already seem ill-equipped.

But as Walsh says, none of the festival organizers reached out to OurMusicMyBody first.

"It's concerning to me that we're saying -- for free -- we'll work with you to develop some sort of process, a statement, have our presence there as people who are trained in crisis counseling and still not hearing back from people," Stuehrk says.

"That is unacceptable. Security, festival organizers and us or someone with experience in crisis intervention need to all be at the same table. You've got to face the music, no pun intended."

jroti@chicagotribune.com

___

(c)2017 the Chicago Tribune

Visit the Chicago Tribune at www.chicagotribune.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.