Everybody know that since Sweden went full-bore for “multiculturalism,” the country now has an increasing problem with sexual violence, especially in Muslim-heavy places like the rapidly changing Swedish city of Gothenburg. So, clearly, the way to deal with it is by excluding all men from public events:
Matilda Hagerman laughs with her friends as she queues at a man-free music festival, which kicked off in Sweden on Friday in protest against a wave of sexual assaults at festivals in recent years. “This festival was necessary because of everything that happened during festivals last year,” says the 27-year-old student with long pink hair and purple lipstick as her friends nod in agreement.
Held in Sweden’s second-largest city of Gothenburg, the two-day Statement Festival, forbids men but not transgender people. It was announced last year after police received four rape and 23 sexual assault reports at Sweden’s largest Bravalla Festival, which was cancelled this year as a result.
“What do you think about us creating an awesome festival where only non-men are welcome until ALL men learn how to behave?” Swedish comedian Emma Knyckare, who founded the Statement Festival, tweeted at the time.
One suspects that real Swedish men, who have lived in a feminized society for decades now, know how to behave; one equally suspects that males from other cultures do not. Here’s what happened at Bravalla:
In 2017, Police in Östergötland, where the festival is held, said four rapes and 23 sexual assaults were reported over the weekend. In 2016, there were five rapes and 12 cases of sexual assault reported over the four days. Days after the 2017 edition, organizers told The Guardian “Certain men … apparently cannot behave. It’s a shame. We have therefore decided to cancel Bråvalla 2018.”
And just who were the “certain men“? Here’s a report on what happened at a similar music festival in Stockholm a couple of years earlier:
Sweden’s prime minister has condemned a “double betrayal” of women after allegations that police covered up sexual harassment by recent immigrants at a music festival in Stockholm. Meanwhile, reports have emerged of attacks on women in Malmö on New Year’s Eve.
Groups of refugees molested concertgoers at We Are Stockholm, Europe’s largest youth festival, in the summer of 2014, according to internal police memos obtained by Dagens Nyheter, a daily newspaper. “These are so-called refugee youths, specifically from Afghanistan. Several of the gang were arrested for sexual molestation,” one police memo said. Yet the official police report on the five-day festival attended by 170,000 young people aged mainly 13-19 made no mention of sexual harassment or assaults.
Meanwhile, back at the No Men Allowed festival:
Under cloudy skies, the festival got started with women holding beers and smiling and walking harmoniously in groups. With two main stages for the mainly Swedish women performers, there was plenty of space to rest outside on pink coloured seats at the centre of the site, turning the festival into a convivial place in contrast to traditional festivals.
“This place feels like a safe-zone where women can just get together and have fun and celebrate … especially in light of the assaults that have happened at other festivals,” said Julia Skonneby, a 34-year-old performer. “It feels like a certain tension is gone… we’re here to make a statement together,” Hanna Gustavsson, a 31-year-old designer, chimed in.
It’s a statement, all right.
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