“Being a woman at a concert can be terrifying”
In an excellent article for Salon, journalist Amy McCarthy writes about how scary concerts can be for a woman. In her 10 years of attending and reviewing live music, McCarthy says she’s been assaulted in a number of ways—punched, groped, beer thrown in her face.
She goes into chilling detail about the rise in violence against women at concerts over the past few years—including rapes and dismissed charges against alleged rapists. Read a clipping of the article below, and check out the full piece at Salon.
“Outside of this expected level of physicality in the mosh pit, rape and sexual assault are on the rise at concerts,” writes McCarthy. “Last year, a Keith Urban concert that spun out of control, with reports of attendees hospitalized for intoxication ranging from 20 to nearly 50, included the arrest of an 18-year-old who authorities alleged raped a 17-year-old in the crowd while onlookers took photos and video on their phones. While the girl reportedly told police and witnesses she did not consent, the charges were later dismissed. But similar reports from major music festivals are almost commonplace, including Stagecoach, Electric Zoo and Philadelphia’s Made in America, and those are just from 2014. Just last week, a woman reported being sexually assaulted by an unidentified assailant in a restroom on the University of Oregon campus during a Jason Aldean performance.”
