New report details multiple instances of sexual misconduct at Coachella

Headlined by Beyonce, Eminem and The Weeknd, one the global music calendar’s biggest events took place over the weekend. As a must-attend event for music fans and influencers worldwide, the festival doesn’t go without its seedy underbelly of bad behaviour.

A report was conducted by Teen Vogue investigating instances of sexual misconduct at the festival – a journalist named Vera Papisova interviewed 54 women at the festival, all of who had been sexually harassed in some form.

The story features anecdotal evidence from victims who provide recounts of their day so recall non-consensual behaviour.

A 21-year-old named Aaliyah was quoted as saying, “Me and my friends were just dancing yesterday during the Weeknd’s set. A few guys came over and just poked us and started dancing with us and wouldn’t leave us alone.”

“They kind of swarmed us. Then one was putting his face in our face, seeing if we’d kiss him, but he went down the line. I think they think that since we wear what we want to wear, they are entitled to touch us.”

Papisocva also recalls that during the 10 hours she spent reporting, she was groped 22 times.

“During the 10 hours I was reporting on this story, I was groped 22 times,” she wrote.

“One guy followed me across the field to the Mojave stage, where I was meeting a friend to see FIDLAR,” she wrote of one instance. “When my friend left to see another band, I stayed behind, and this guy came up behind me and whispered, ‘You’re a goddess’ and then rubbed his hands on my hips and butt.”

“I knew it was the guy who followed me over earlier because I recognized his Pablo merch. This is why I usually wear a backpack in concert settings — it forces distance between the stranger behind me and my body” said Papisova.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.