Victoria to set up taskforce to address sexual assault at gigs

The Victoria Government is tackling sexual harassment and assault of women in licensed venues, the Minister for Consumer Affairs, Gaming and Liquor Regulation Jane Garrett announced.

“Incidents of sexual assault and harassment of women in licensed venues and at music festivals is a significant problem and one which needs to be addressed promptly, particularly in order to create safe spaces for women in licensed venues,” Garrett said.

A taskforce is to be set up under the chair of Cate Carr, Executive Director of Liquor, Gaming and Racing, to come up with Best Practice Guidelines. It will include input from the music industry, venue operators, police and women’s heath groups among others.

In time, it is expected that the guidelines will extend to all types of venues and festivals in the state, and include vulnerable elements as the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community.

The idea for the taskforce was mooted by SLAM (Save Live Australian Music) and Listen,an activist group of women in the music industry which has 1,650 contributors. It was confirmed at the Live Music Roundtable this week. The Roundtable meets once every four months where the live music sector meets with Government, police and liquor licensing reps, among others, and has been responsible for the introduction of important policies as Agent of Change, building code changes and deregulation of all-ages gigs.

The taskforce is expected to determine the definition of sexual assault and harassment, identify procedures as which club staff an assaulted person should report to, and address solutions like more female security staff, better training for club employees, an awareness campaign and rewards for venues which have “we don’t tolerate sexual harassment” stickers at their doors.

Helen Marcou, co-founder of SLAM and a member of the Live Music Roundtable and Listen, told The Music Network that sexual harassment was “prevalent but seldom reported. All too often, groping or comments are seen as part of going out. Performers don’t like to complain in case it gets the venue in trouble. But it’s good that the music community has taken the lead in this issue, which it has many times before.”

Bianca Fileborn of the Australian Centre for the Study of Sexual Assault, found in her research on unwanted sexual attention at pubs and clubs, that 96.6% agreed it occurred, and 80.2% viewed it as common. “Unwanted sexual behaviour is becoming a normal part of a night out for women (and they feel they) wouldn’t be taken seriously if they complained,” she said.

Another study by Deakin University found that the presence of alcohol in these premises heightened unhealthy perceptions about sexual availability. Its lead researcher, Dr Eric Koukounas, pointed out, “People who drink alcohol are perceived to be more sexually available than those who abstain, and that men see women who are drinking as more likely to consent to sex. Approximately half of all sexual assaults are also associated with either the perpetrator and/or the victim having consumed alcohol.”

In addition, the environment of these venues – including poor lighting and overcrowding – added towomen feeling unsafe.

Photo Credit: Ken Leanfore