Prevention and Reduction of Sexual Violence at Bonnaroo
Story and photo by Zoe Naylor
MTSU Seigenthaler News Service
Music festivals are hotbeds for potentially dangerous situations. Extreme heat and extended time outdoors can cause fainting. Drug use can lead to hyperthermia and dehydration. Sexual harassment occurs, unfortunately, in the pits of some shows.
Thankfully, several organizations are working to prevent harms like these this weekend. Medical tents have both emergency medical personnel and crisis counselors available to support the physical and mental health of festival-goers.
Calling All Crows is a social justice organization that aims to prevent sexual violence in the live music industry. Among other socially active programs, their “Here for the Music” campaign trains concert and festival staff to intervene and prevent sexual harassment during live music shows.
CAC was started in 2008 by Chadwick Stokes and his wife Cybil when Stokes was the frontman of the band Dispatch. His wife was also his tour manager, and they started CAC to address timely, sensitive issues facing communities.
The group started doing “cyclical campaigns,” where they focused on a problem for one to three years. Past campaigns have provided supplies for Sudanese refugee camps, raised awareness of gun violence and donated personal hygiene products to women in prison.
In 2017, Calling All Crows “looked inward” at the music community and began Here for the Music. At the time, the Me Too movement was gaining traction, putting sexual violence at live music events on the organization’s radar.
“We were seeing a lot of things come out about artists who had behaved inappropriately,” said Lena Charity-Shapira, Communications and Program Manager for CAC.
So the organization developed a training program for live music security personnel. Before a concert or festival, CAC teaches employees how to be “active bystanders,” explained Becky Wood, CAC volunteer.
“That’s about being able to identify behavior on a continuum — all the way from something that’s consensual and mutual to abusive or violent,” she said.
HFTM tells venue workers to use the “Badass Bystander Moves,” which give options for how to intervene if they see something fishy take place. The goal is to “(give) them the tools to be able to intervene safely and effectively,” Wood explained.
These tools include the “five Ds” of sexual harassment intervention. Based on their situation and confidence level, bystanders can choose one or more actions to take when they encounter a sexually unsafe scenario: delegate, document, distract, direct, and/or delay.
At Bonnaroo, CAC staff and volunteers run a booth where they answer questions, hand out pamphlets and give out temporary tattoos depicting a heart with the word “consent” written on a banner around it.
“We always, always, always get folks approach the table to share their experiences of harassment or assault,” said Maggie Arthur, program director of Here for the Music.
“Everyone’s just so glad we’re here,” said Wood. “There are a lot of people who are like, ‘Damn, I wish this was around 20 years ago.’”
Wood knows the organization’s work is appreciated. She said festival attendees who visit the booth have said, “I’m so glad this is around because if something were to happen, I wouldn’t know what to do. I wouldn’t even know where to start.”
Calling All Crows is hoping to expand its work to all Live Nation events. Since Live Nation is a huge media conglomerate in the live music industry, CAC believes a contract with them would help ensure the safety of concert-goers across the country.
“The higher you can get, the more people you can reach, the better,” said Wood.
Until then, Calling All Crows is proud of the work being done by its staff and volunteers. They are there before events like Bonnaroo to help venue workers gain the confidence and knowledge needed to intervene in unsafe situations. They are there during events to answer questions and promote safety awareness.
“Every time we’re at an event, we see our impact: that folks feel even a little bit safe knowing that we’re there,” said Arthur.
If you have questions or are in need of a temporary tattoo emphasizing the importance of consent, you can find the Calling All Crows booth in Planet Roo at Bonnaroo all weekend.
Zoe Naylor is a staff writer for MTSU Sidelines.
To contact News Editor Kailee Shores and Assistant News Editor Alyssa Williams, email [email protected].
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