What is Statement Festival?
Statement Festival is a newly launched festival that was created as a response to the countless sexual assaults towards women that has occurred at several music festivals. The festival will be Sweden’s first large music festival free from cis-men, and the purpose is to make a clear statement towards the sexual assaults in our society.
Who started Statement Festival?
Emma Knyckare is a Swedish comedian and hostess who, taken by the reports about several sexual assaults at the festival Bråvalla, tweeted “What do you think about us creating an awesome festival where only non-men are welcome until ALL men learn how to behave?”. Hundreds of people made themselves available to help. Out of the hundreds that contacted Emma, a project group was created consisting of 25 people, which has made it possible to make the festival happen.
Why do we need Statement Festival?
It is inexcusable that so many of us feel like we need a free zone from cis-men to make us feel safe. However, it is what reality looks like and therefore we would like to create an alternative for people who are not cis-men, and who wants to visit a festival without being scared. We are going to create a festival where safety and security is not a dream, but an obvious and something indisputable.
Who is organizing Statement Festival?
Statement Festival is organised by the non-profit organisation Statement.
When is Statement Festival?
Statement Festival will take place during the end of the summer 2018, August 31 st and September 1 st. The place for the festival will be
Bananpiren in Gothenburg, on the west coast of Sweden.
Will there be cis-males among the festival staff?
All staff members in contact with our guests will be women, non-binary or trans persons.
Who can perform at Statement?
All artists performing at the festival identifies as women, non-bonary and/or trans. However, the artist them selves decides which musicians they bring with them on stage, which means that some of our artists will be backed up by persons that are cis-males. In these cases the cis-males will only have access to the stage during their performance, but never the rest of the festival area.
Who is welcome to Statement Festival?
Statement Festival welcomes everyone who are not cis-men. In other words, this means that we welcome women, non-binary persons and trans persons.
What is a cis-man?
A cis-man is a person whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth, in this case a male gender. For a cis-man, his body, legal gender and his gender identity are all in line with the norm. Cis is latin and means “on this side of”.
Why are you excluding cis-men?
We are excluding cis-men because we want to create a festival where women, non-binary people and trans people can enjoy awesome music without the fear of assaults, violations or threats.
Do you believe that all cis-men are rapists?
No, of course we do not believe that. On the contrary, we don’t know which men are guilty of the sexual offenses towards others at for example music festivals, and that is why we are creating a free zone where people who are not cis-men can feel safe. We simply want to be able to visit a festival without being scared, so during these two days cis-men will have to find something else to do.
Who is welcome to Statement Festival?
Statement Festival welcomes everyone who are not cis-men. In other words, this means that we welcome women, non-binary persons and trans persons.
Why are you welcoming trans men?
Trans men often have extensive experience of being harassed and faced with violence, hate and threats from people who also treat women the same way. As a group, trans men are extremely exposed and vulnerable. Statement Festival is a free zone from having to be constantly scared, and therefore we also welcome trans men.