Interview
One year on:
Girls Against
With the organisation celebrating its first birthday - and stacks of future plans to stamp out sexual assault and harassment in the works - founding member Hann tells DIY what’s next.
A little over a year ago, five teenagers fed up with feeling unsafe and violated at gigs decided to take action. Then aged between 15 and 17, Hann, Anni, Anna, Ava and Bea set up Girls Against, with the goal of stamping out sexual assault and harassment at live shows.
The group first came about after founding member Hann was assaulted at a Peace show. Afterwards, with the support of a close friend, she bravely shared her experiences online. Peace themselves were quick to support her, with frontman Harry Koisser tweeting “if you think this is OK, please I beg you do not come.” The momentum snowballed. Slaves soon backed Girls Against, too, promising to stop their live shows if they ever heard reports of assault at their gigs. Other young women began contacting the fledgling group, describing their own experiences. They soon realised the power in spreading awareness of the issue, getting musicians on board with the cause, and providing a safe space for music fans to share stories.
In the months that followed, Girls Against received the vocal support of countless bands, from The 1975, Royal Blood, and Spring King, to Sundara Karma, INHEAVEN, and Wolf Alice. Their pin badges made cameos in music videos, and were sported onstage by countless artists. A year of organising ended on a celebratory tone, with the Girls Against logo big, proud, and very pinky-purple, on the main stage screens at Reading & Leeds Festival. And, as founding member Hann tells DIY a year on from first starting the organisation, they’ve got loads more plans in the pipeline…
The visibility Girls Against has had this year has been really amazing to see. So first off, you must be really pleased about all the support people are showing?
Oh yeah absolutely! It’s really weird if you think about it for too long, actually. I don’t think it has really hit us that we were actually on the boards at Reading & Leeds yet!
I think the only time that it hits us - that this is what we actually do, and people really know who we are - is when we meet people who support us. We didn’t even think about getting widespread publicity when we began, it wasn’t even considered. We just wanted to make some noise about the issue to be honest. The idea behind Girls Against just began in a group chat, so any support is more than we expected.
“If musicians speaking out about the issue gets the attention of big bosses, and our foot in the door, then we’re going to take it.”
— Hann Camilleri
At the moment you’re in ongoing discussions with promoters, venues, and security companies about the issues you tackle with Girls Against; all people who are really important to helping eliminate harassment at gigs. How are those talks going?
Really good! We hope to have a document containing guidelines on what security’s training should consist of, and policies that venues should enforce regarding these issues, out by the end of the year. We really want to ensure that this document is reputable and valid for venues across the world to use, because the majority of them, of course, really want to support us.
You’ve also opened up a space online for people to share and discuss their negative experiences at live shows – an important resource for sure. Why do you think that this sort of space is important? What do you think it does in terms of awareness?
I think it’s important, because it’s sometimes easier for victims of sexual assault and harassment to speak to someone whose face they can’t actually see, and whom they don’t know - rather than someone they do know. Of course, it’s different for everyone, but we want to be someone at the other end of a direct message, for victims to turn to if they need any form of support.
We also widely publicise that Girls Against is run by people with experience of the issue, so hopefully that makes them feel like they are speaking to someone that actually does understand what they’re going through. It’s so important to raise awareness. A lot of the adults I speak to aren’t aware it goes on, or don’t believe the rate of incidents. Having evidence, and being able to tell them that we get however many DMs a day from victims is super important in helping us change regulations, and working to improve things.
Girls Against isn’t just tackling sexual harassment in the crowds at gigs – you also raise awareness of audience members sexualising musicians performing on stage. There’s still massive work that needs to be done in this area too – what needs to change?
We want to do our best to do as much as we can to help other people, and that means including discussion of other issues. We’re primarily tackling sexual assault and harassment at gigs, because we already have piles of work to do and can’t add too much to do it before we start drowning!
However, I think regarding the sexualisation of musicians on stage, it’s about much more than a change within the music industry. It’s a global problem of over-sexualisation that we have in society, encouraged by aggressive advertising and things like dress codes for young girls for example. We all need to take a look at ourselves, and ask why on earth some people think such basic and barbaric thoughts sometimes towards creative people simply trying to do their jobs.
What else have you got planned, going forward?
So many things! Of course, our number one priority is always supporting victims; offering them guidance on what to do next, and how to work through what happened to them. Alongside this, however, we’re working on developing new merch to help spread awareness, putting on our own events - to again raise awareness - and a fun day out for supporters too! Our largest project at the moment, however, is getting out this paper of recommendations for security and venues on how to tackle the issues.
Many artists have been super supportive of Girls Against, and many others have also actively implemented schemes to stamp our harassment at live shows. Sadie and the rest of Speedy Ortiz, for example, have set up a hotline for people to call at their shows if they feel unsafe. That’s all really positive – how do you think artists can continue to do more?
Artists are hugely important in helping to tackle this issue, which is why we really try to get as many on board as possible! Whether they like it or not, artists are often huge role-models for their fans. When they’re on stage every night saying that they support our campaign and that they don’t want any sexual assault or harassment occurring at their shows, people are going to take notice. They’ll be more aware of the issue and, therefore, more likely to help diffuse a situation and help potential victims.
They’re also, sadly, taken much more seriously than us by industry officials. We need the co-operation of everyone to help tackle the issue, and if musicians speaking out about the issue gets the attention of big bosses, and our foot in the door, then we’re going to take it.
For more information about Girls Against, follow them on Twitter, or visit their official website.
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