Dozens Of Sexual Assaults Reported At Last Weekend’s Swedish Music Festivals
At two different music festival in Sweden this past weekend, there were widespread reports of sexual assaults. According to The New York Times, at both Karlstad’s Putte I Parken festival and the Norrkoping’s Bravalla Festival, dozens of women reported being assaulted or, in some cases, raped.
In Karlstad, police are seeking seven men for questioning after 32 attacks on mostly teeanged girls were reported. The youngest girl attacked was 12. Meanwhile, Norrkoping police are investigating five alleged rape cases and many more assaults.
Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven calls the attacks “totally unacceptable” and claims that he’ll be working to strengthen laws against sexual assault. And Mumford & Sons, who headlined Bravalla, have addressed the attacks in a statement on Facebook:
We’re appalled to hear what happened at the Bravalla Festival last weekend. Festivals are a celebration of music and people, a place to let go and feel safe doing so. We’re gutted by these hideous reports.
We won’t play at this festival again until we’ve had assurances from the police and organisers that they’re doing something to combat what appears to be a disgustingly high rate of reported sexual violence.
M, W, B & T