Lovebox Festival security staff have been hit with allegations of sexual assault at this weekend’s event.
The festival, which took place in London’s Victoria Park over Friday and Saturday of this weekend (15-16 July), hosted Frank Ocean, Solange, Chase & Status and many more across the bill.
One attendee, Louisa Davies, has accused Lovebox festival’s security staff of sexually assaulting her during Frank Ocean’s Friday night headline set.
In a piece written for Chapter W, Davies explains: “A line of security guards walked towards me in a yellow line, and naturally (as I am a sucker for authority), I moved. One by one, the men walked past me… I felt a hand run up my thigh, and it then tuck itself inside my shorts. I froze, pushed the man away from me, and before I had chance to think, he had gone.”
Davies also states that it took over 40 minutes for her reports of the assault to be addressed, writing: “If the same urgency and seriousness that was applied to drugs was issued for assaults and derogatory attitudes towards women, perhaps the problem [of sexual assault at festivals] would be less severe.”
NME have reached out to Lovebox festival’s organisers MAMA Group for comment.
To the security guard at Lovebox who put his hand up my shorts – I'm not letting you ruin my weekend, you absolute scumbag.
— Louisa Davies (@LouisaD__) July 15, 2017
Oh and I reported you. ??
— Louisa Davies (@LouisaD__) July 15, 2017
Elsewhere, a number of festivals recently took part in an online ‘blackout’ to highlight their dedication to tackling sexual assault at festivals.
In a piece written for NME, the Association of Independent Festivals’ Renae Brown wrote: “Our members are supporting this because of a growing concern about sexual violence. More than half a million adults are sexually assaulted in England & Wales each year according to Rape Crisis England & Wales. There’s no evidence or statistics to suggest that these crimes occur any more or less at music festivals. In fact, from our own annual audience survey, 93% of respondents did not experience any kind of crime at all when attending a festival-the categories included theft, ticket fraud and assault.
“However, against this background, and working with experts from Rape Crisis England & Wales, Girls Against, Safer Gigs For Women and the White Ribbon Project, event organisers want to reiterate their zero tolerance policy towards any kind of sexual assault. The campaign also aims to highlight the good work that many festivals are already doing to increase awareness or providing bespoke services and inspire other events to do the same.”