The organisers of Australia's Falls Festival have issued a strong statement condemning the alleged assaults of women at their Tasmanian event, stressing that men must "stop taking liberties" when it comes to the treatment of their female counterparts.
Police said five women in their teens and 20s have now reported being sexual assaulted at the New Years' event in Marion, but police believe there may more victims who are yet to come forward.
![Crowds at the Falls Festival in Lorne.](/web/20170108015510im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/k/8/l/x/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtn3o4.png/1483680596956.jpg)
In a statement on their Facebook page on Thursday night, the festival's management group said they were "disgusted and angry that some people feel they can inappropriately touch others without their consent."
All-too-often the narrative surrounding sexual assaults places the spotlight on the vigilance of women, but as their statement pointed out, a cultural shift can only occur if Australians change the discussion to men having "some respect" in the first place.
"The safety and wellbeing of our Festivals patrons is of utmost importance to us. We cannot comment on this as it is now a police matter, we are deeply saddened and disturbed by these allegations," the statement said.
"Everybody has the right to move through life – not just at a music festival, but everywhere – free to feel safe and confident to enjoy their surroundings. We would like to see the conversation turn from telling our women and girls to be on guard and vigilant, to telling our boys and men to have some respect and stop taking these liberties."
While the other three Falls events around the country were over-18s events, the Marion-based festival was billed as an all-aged festival (people under 18 must be accompanied by an adult at all times) featuring children's programmes in a designated "family campground."
It is alleged that three of the women were assaulted during the sets of Sydney DJs Hot Dub Time Machine and rapper Illy, as well as on the camping site grounds during the three-day festival, while details of the attacks on the other two women are yet to be disclosed.
However, given the size of the campsite, many on social media has criticised the policing of the event, calling for the management to now change it to only allow over 18s.
The comment from Falls management diverges (and is perhaps a response) from the Tasmania's police's initial comments which focused on the safety measures female festival-goers could adopt to prevent assaults. The Tasmania Police also said many young people believe being sexually assaulted by others "is what happens in the mosh pit."
The lead investigator on the case, Detective Steve Burk, said they "grateful to the people who have come forward," believing the bravery prompted two other women to follow suit.
"It's quite clear that the general belief of a lot of young people is that being inappropriately touched by someone else is what happens in the mosh pit," Detective Burk said.
"My view is if you're not comfortable treating women like that in the middle of the mall you don't treat them like that in the middle of a mosh pit either. The culture needs to change - this behaviour just cannot be accepted."
Many Facebook users have criticised the statement for focusing on the perpetrator's comfort with one person saying, "it's a far wider problem that we have in society concerning the lack of understanding and appreciation for the concept of consent. The focus should be should be on the comfort of the person that is being touched, not that of the perpetrator."
Father of two and Hot Dub Time Machine DJ Tom Loud also condemned the attack, saying it is vital for anyone with information to come forward as per the police request, in order to prevent further assaults at other music events.
"I don't really want to comment, other than to say I'm obviously very shocked and appalled," the Sydney artist told the Mercury yesterday.
"We've been in touch with the police and we are co-operating fully and have given them all the footage from our camera people to assist. We are urging people to do the same."
The Falls Festival was also marred by a crowd crush incident during the Victorian leg of the event, which led to the hospitalisation of 19 people with more than 60 injured. The management is now potentially facing a lawsuit over the incident, but insists that "after 24 years of successful operation it was a confluence of events that resulted in the incident," rather than poor planning.
If you have any information about the alleged Falls Festival sexual assaults, call the Bellerive CIB on 131 444.