NME People Of The Year 2016: Girls Against

For fighting sexual assault one gig at a time

Who: Ava Cadenhead, Anna Cowan, Anni Cameron, Bea Bennister and Hannah Camilleri – a gang of fierce-as- f**k teens who joined forces to eliminate sexual harassment at live music venues

Why: Girls Against got together at the end of 2015 as a response to being groped while in the crowd at gigs. They were angry, and rightfully so, intent on calling out the perpetrators and bringing an end to everyday sexual assault. They’ve spent the past year and a bit fighting misogyny in the mosh pit, and the likes of The 1975, Wolf Alice, Slaves, The Vaccines, Hinds and Frank Turner have all done their bit to offer support and help spread their message. Meanwhile, Girls Against have recruited 80 grassroots reps to raise awareness and make sure people know that touching someone up – or worse – in the crowd at a concert simply isn’t OK.

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What they say: “When you go out onto a busy and crowded street, you don’t expect to be sexually assaulted, so why expect it when you’re at a gig? Sexual assault is illegal and should be treated as such” – Anna

What people say about them: “Putting your hands all over any woman without her permission is not on at any sort of concert. Going as far as putting your hand up her skirt, forcing her to leave the venue and go home, ruining her night, is disgusting. Please go and follow Girls Against on Twitter to fight this kind of behaviour” – Slaves

How they made the world a better place: By rounding up bands and fans alike, and getting them to speak out and put a stop to venue-based bellendery.

See more of the NME People Of The Year 2016 profiles

Beyoncé

Matty Healy

Millie Bobby Brown

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Pikachu

Skepta

Margot Robbie

Phoebe Waller-Bridge

Héloïse Letissier (Christine & The Queens)

Riz Ahmed

David Bowie

Kanye West

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