The Alternative Music Scene Has a Sexual Assault Problem

Over the past few years, sexual assault and harassment at alternative music gigs has become an increasingly prominent issue. Not only are the fans at gigs being assaulted but many of the artists themselves have perpetrated sexual abuse and rape as they are abusing their power and taking advantage of vulnerable fans. Whilst it sadly happens in any music scene, there is no doubt the numbers are higher when it comes to gigs involving indie, rock or metal bands. 

But why is this issue so common in the alternative scene? The answer isn’t clear, but it could be due to multiple factors including the objectification of our female artists within alternative music and the behaviour shown by male artists, who need to be held accountable for their actions. 

Women in rock are always often pushed to the front and heavily sexualised. Whilst giving women a visible platform in a genre which is so male dominated is vital, the way in which the media and the music industry goes about it could be where part of the problem lies. Hayley Williams of Paramore recently spoke to Vulture.com about the misogyny she faced during the early years of the band, stating: “I would get an opportunity and think either I don’t deserve it, or It’s only because I’m a woman, or I want to belittle it because I don’t want to stand apart from the guys. I don’t want to be treated specially.” At their first gig at Warped Tour in 2005, they were offered to perform on an all-female stage, which Williams found unfair as it felt like “a back-handed compliment” as she “wanted to play with the big boys.” She was also asked outright at the age of sixteen questions such as ‘who are you fucking?’ and stated she ‘got shit’ for not wanting to wear lip balm in a photo shoot. She would have condoms thrown at her onstage and was even asked vulgar questions by members of other bands when on tour. 

This behaviour unfortunately seems to happen to all women in music. There is an expectation to be sexy and accept the sexaulisation as a compliment. It is an outdated belief that women in rock want to be a sex symbol and that they want to be pushed to the front. Many female artists want are in a band because they want to be part of a band, they don’t want the objectification and the push to be a solo figure. 

Growing up as a teen who loved the emo music scene, Austin Jones was one of the first sexual abusers that came to my attention. He was a well-known YouTuber and artist who had released an EP and later, a full-length album in 2016. He later admitted to encouraging six underage girls to send him sexually explicit videos to ‘prove they were his biggest fans’. Thankfully, he was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for his actions but unfortunately many artists are carrying out abuse and not facing the consequences.

Recently another story has resurfaced involving ‘Of Mice & Men’ former front man Austin Carlile as he had been accused of rape and sexual misconduct with multiple women from recent cases that had been sent to Alternative Press. The magazine interviewed more than 10 suspected victims and wrote an investigative article on the cases which they later opted not to run. They faced backlash and outrage online as the magazine was accused of burying the article. Further allegations resurfaced in June 2020, and Alternative Press have made a statement on Twitter: "For legal purposes regarding the Austin Carlile accusations, the story couldn't run as it was told. As a female-led, lgbtq+ editorial staff, we're going to reopen this & find the answers you're looking for. We do not condone any of the accusations & this story WILL be heard.”

Just yesterday on the 17th June allegations of rape and abuse of underage girls surfaced on Twitter about Attila front man Chris Fronzak (often known as Fronz). A girl named Roxy posted a thread of tweets explaining how he had got her drunk and taken advantage of her at his shows. Roxy admitted to Fronz at a later point that she was underage and has made that clear in her statements. She made it clear she did not want to engage in sexual activity as he had a girlfriend at the time and has quoted in one of her tweets that Fronz had said "I know you lied about your age and I don't even care but now you have to make it up to me." Even if you take away the fact Roxy had lied about her age at the time, why was Fronz getting girls blackout drunk and engaging in sex? This is not consensual. He has since replied with two videos claiming he never forced anyone to get drunk and that he believes his ex, who he cheated on, is involved in Roxy revealing her story in a way to 'ruin his life'. Fronz is also known for running an OnlyFans account where he posts explicit content with various girls. This would be a good time for Alternative Press to investigate and use their platform after their recent backlash. You can read the statements and Chris Fronzak's response here.

Sexual assault and harassment is prominent within the audiences of the kinds of shows these types of bands and artists perform to. I spoke to two women who shared their stories of assault and harassment they experienced or witnessed at an alternative music gig:

• “At an Arctic Monkeys gig, my male friend tried to grind with me and kept holding my waist, trying to pull me against him. It was very uncomfortable as I thought we both knew we were just friends. I didn’t know what to do with myself and never confronted him about it as I didn’t know what to say and was scared it would have been turned around on me.”

• “I saw Bring Me The Horizon in concert and at the end of the show I saw a girl who had been in the mosh pit leaving the venue in tears with her make-up smudge down her face. I saw that her top had been completely ripped off and she was walking around in her bra. I felt horrendous as I didn’t see it happen and wish I could have helped. This is why it’s important for men to hold other men accountable and call out their friends and guys around them for their disgusting behaviour at times like that. Everyone plays a part in stepping in when visible sexual assault, violence or harassment is happening.”

These are not the only stories you will hear or will have heard during your lifetime; this issue persists to be one of the biggest concerns in music. A survey showed that over half of female festival-goers under 40 have faced unwanted sexual behaviour at a festival. The survey (from YouGov) also suggested only 2% of incidents were reported to the police. This could be due to the lack of support for the victims of this behaviour and the idea that nothing will get done. 

An organisation, Safe Gigs For Women, has been set up to offer support and advice to women at gigs and festivals to try and make a difference to this issue, you can read about their aims here.

Organisations and charities need more support from festival organisers and venues so they can support more people at music events. Music artists themselves encouraging this will also make a massive difference in helping these support systems to be available and encourage their fans to use them. 

As a society we must do better; policing and security at gigs and festivals must improve. We need drastic change to iron out this unacceptable behaviour to allow women to feel safe in music. Unfortunately, music isn’t the only industry which has faced so many accounts of horrendous sexual abuse: An article by Vox.com lists multiple celebrities, politicians and famous figures who have abused their power and have been accused of sexual misconduct which you can read here. This list is beyond disappointing and a drastic system change is needed. We need to support and believe victims who come forward with their own #MeToo stories. Let's do better.

If you need support, here are some useful links that can help:

• rapecrisis.org.uk

• https://sgfw.org.uk/