Sweden holds world's first major 'women only' music festival

Event was organised in response to a string of sexual assault allegations at the country's biggest music festival, in 2017

An artist performs at The Statement 'women only' music festival in Sweden (Reuters)

A “cis man-free” festival has been held in Sweden, in response to a string of alleged sexual assaults at the country’s biggest music festival.​

The Statement music festival in Gothenburg claims to be the world’s first major music gathering for women, transgender and non-binary people only. It took place on Friday 31 August and Saturday 1 September at Bananpiren in Gothenburg.

Swedish comedian Emma Knyckare came up with the idea after reports of multiple sexual offences at Bravalla festival last year and in 2016. The event was crowd-funded with more than 300,000 donations.

“The whole area is free of cis-men,” Ms Knyckare told Euronews. “We work exclusively with women, non-binary and transgender persons. This ranges from artists to catering to security personnel.”

Cisgender is the term applied to an individual whose gender matches their assigned sex at birth. A trans or non-binary person is someone whose gender or gender identity is different to their birth-assigned sex.

“No one will be questioned at the entrance,” Ms Knyckare said, when asked how organisers were going to stop men getting in. She said that the festival was working with a specialised security company to develop a specialised “access system”.

However, she called the festival a “reaction” to the problem of sexual assault at music events, “not the solution”.

Women attend the Statement Festival at Bananpiren in Gothenburg, Sweden, on August 31, 2018 (AFP/Getty)

Bravalla festival 2018 was cancelled after widespread sexual assault cases at the event in 2017 and 2016.

​“Certain men... apparently cannot behave. It’s a shame. We have therefore decided to cancel Bråvalla 2018” organisers said.

British band Mumford & Sons, who were on the bill in 2016, said they would not play the festival again until they had assurances that fans would be protected.

“Festivals are a celebration of music and people, a place to let go and feel safe doing so,” they wrote. “We won’t play at this festival again until we’ve had assurances from the police and organisers that they’re doing something to combat what appears to be a disgustingly high rate of reported sexual violence.”

Ms Knyckare said the #MeToo movement had unveiled “serious problems” in Sweden, which is one of the most gender equal nations in the world, at festivals and also several institutions.

“It seems like men have woken up to how huge the problem with sexual violence is,” Ms Knyckare told AFP.

Held in Sweden's second-largest city of Gothenburg, the two-day Statement Festival, forbids men but not transgender people. (AFP/Getty)

Guests at The Statement festival seemed positive about the event and the message it was sending about a zero tolerance of sexual misconduct.

“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,” Julia Skonneby, a 34-year-old performer, told The Local.

“It feels like a certain tension is gone... we’re here to make a statement together,” Hanna Gustavsson, a 31-year-old designer, added.