Examining sexual violence in Greater Melbourne, a renowned music city

As a renowned music city, Melbourne is a powerful cultural and economic force. However, it is clear from the survey of 126 respondents (mostly, cisgender, white women aged between 25 and 44 years) that they do not feel safe in urban music spaces. Sexual violence, mostly groping and general harassment, is at epidemic proportions and normalised in clubs and venues that play rock music. This disempowers music workers, deters others from working in it, and/or participating in the music scenes. As 80% of respondents never reported the incidences, this epidemic will continue unless drastic measures are taken. As the epidemic of sexual violence is holding back Australia’s premier live music city capital and multi-million-dollar music business, clearly, more work needs to be done to address this societal issue.