Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.11.2018, Qupperneq 56

L IF E , T R AV EL & EN T ER TA INMEN T IN ICEL A ND
Issue 20 × 2018
Nov 9th—Dec 6th
www.grapevine.is
LAST WORDS
Be Kind,
Don’t Harass
Words: Anna Ásthildur Þorsteinsdóttir
Iceland Airwaves is one of the biggest live
music events of the year, annually attracting
international visitors by the thousands and
serving as a platform that can catapult an act
into international stardom.
Every year the city is filled with music,
artists bustling between gigs and giddy con-
certgoers excitedly planning their musical
adventure. But even a festival held in the
most egalitarian country in the world must
tackle taboo topics: sexual harassment at live
music events.
Sexual harassment and abuse of any kind
is always a problem, but it’s arguably a more
prevalent problem in the nightlife arena.
When people go out to have fun, to enjoy
music, alcohol is inevitably involved and in-
hibitions are compromised.
A recent British study found that 43% of
female music festival guests had experienced
sexual harassment or abuse during the event.
The only way we can attempt to eliminate
this is to first of all talk about it, but most
of all promoters, venue owners and festival
organizers need to put more effort into creat-
ing spaces where guests know that the staff
and other guests stand with them and that
abuse and harassment is not tolerated.
Iceland Airwaves has partnered with Slut
Walk Reykjavík (Druslugangan) this year to
bring attention to this issue. We’re hiring
an expert in trauma counselling to brief all
security personnel that work with the festival
and we’re hosting a panel to discuss what
more can be done to combat this problem.
Druslugangan posters will be prevalent
in venue bathrooms, encouraging guests to
speak to staff if they feel unsafe. Festival
guests are also encouraged to intervene safely
or alert our staff if they witness instances of
harassment or assault. There’s always more
that can be done.We can all work together to
create a fun and safe environment for every-
one, where people can wear whatever they
want and drink whatever they want without
being sexually abused or harassed. This isn’t
too much to ask.
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