MPs to question music festival representatives on gender-balanced line-ups and tackling sexual harassment

23 May 2023 - Press release

Evidence session

Misogyny in music
Wednesday 24 May at 14.30, Committee Room 8, Palace of Westminster

Watch live on parliamentlive.tv

 

Women’s safety at live music events and the gender balance of festival line-ups is the focus of the fourth session of the Women and Equalities Committee’s misogyny in music inquiry. MPs will question representatives of Primavera Sound and End of the Road festivals, the Association of Independent Festivals and the Musician’s Union, on action to tackle sexual harassment and assault at events and protect both artists and audiences.

Over four in ten women under 40 have experienced unwanted sexual behaviour at a UK festival. The Committee has also received written evidence from individuals working in the industry, including one highlighting a poor experience of reporting harassment at an event.

The BBC found that last year only one in ten headliners were female at the UK’s top music festivals. Primavera Sound in Barcelona was the first major festival to achieve a 50/50 gender balanced line-up in 2019.

 

Witnesses 

From 14.30:

• Marta Pallarès Olivares, Head of International Press and PR, Primavera Sound Festival
• John Shortell, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Musician's Union
• Lauren Down, Managing Director, End of Road Festival and Board member at the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF)

 

Further information:

• The first session of the inquiry heard from academics that the music industry is like the “wild west” compared to traditional workplaces in terms of reporting and tackling misogyny.
• The second session heard from organisations supporting women in the industry (transcript here) and the third session heard from those representing the industry and trade bodies (transcript here).
• These evidence sessions are part of a larger body of work exploring Preventing Violence Against Women and Girls. To find out more about this inquiry, including inquiries into attitudes towards women and girls in educational settings and the impact of pornography on violence towards women and girls, visit the Committee's webpage.

 

Committee membership: Caroline Nokes (MP for Romsey and Southampton North) is Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee.