FEATURE:
Red Flag, White Flag
PHOTO CREDIT: Freepik
Whilst Women Are Speaking About Their Experiences of Sexual Assault, Is the Music Industry Doing Enough?
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IT may be an impossible…
PHOTO CREDIT: wayhomestudio/Freepik
feat to achieve, but I wonder whether the music industry will ever be an one where women feel protected, safe and free. I have written about this before. It is not an exaggeration to say that every week there is a case of a man in the music industry being accused of sexual assault or harassment. I realise this is not exclusive to the music industry. If Hollywood had a #MeToo movement that helped unify the industry and saw many predators and culpable men in Hollywood brought to justice, there is still a way to go. It spread to other areas of society. The landscape is changing in that respect. I don’t think anything like that reached the music industry. Whether historic allegations or current, it is pointless people trying to ignore or underplay something horrible running through music. It is bad enough that many women feel unsafe at gigs and festivals. Fearful of being assaulted or abused. As we are still a long way from all festivals and venues being these spaces where women can feel very safe, we also have to read stories of male artists and those in the industry highlighted for all the wrong reasons. I know, as many men might argue, it is not all men. I know full well that not every single man in the music industry is suspect and abuser1 I also know that deflecting with such trite and stupid remarks almost defends the men who are culpable.
PHOTO CREDIT: mikky k/Pexels
Why try and rationalise something like this?! Stories like this and this are not rare. Sadly, as Rolling Stone highlighted last week (as many other sources have covered), Anti-Flag’s Justin Sane has been accused of multiple counts of rape and sexual assault:
“IF THERE WAS one punk group that positioned itself as a leader of a movement for inclusivity, radical change, and allyship in the early 2000s, it was Anti-Flag.
Co-founded by Justin Geever, a.k.a. Justin Sane, in Pittsburgh in 1993, members flitted in and out until the group solidified in 1999. Anti-Flag would go on to draw legions of devoted fans for their progressive messaging and political activism, including anti-war causes and animal-rights advocacy.
Geever served as the face, voice, and outward idealism of the group for decades. The band was proud to declare itself a safe space for people of all walks of life, especially women, and became vocal supporters of survivors of violent crime after the murder of a band member’s sister. That idealism would also become a central tenet to some of Geever’s lyrics. “This is what a feminist looks like!” he sings on 2005’s “Feminism Is for Everybody,” followed immediately by “This is what a feminist sounds like!”
Knowing what the band meant to so many, Kristina Sarhadi was sickened by the burden that she could shatter fans’ entire faith in the group. The New York holistic therapist and health coach had been a die-hard fan until a fall 2010 night with Geever. “It’s been this internal battle for me for over a decade,” Sarhadi tells Rolling Stone. “I truly believed his persona, and what [the band] were always consistently, persistently singing and talking about. I didn’t want to be the one to take that away from anyone else.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Chelsea Lauren/WireImage (digitially alteredf by Rolling Stone)
But in mid-July, Sarhadi appeared on a podcast to accuse the 50-year-old of violent sexual assault. Although Sarhadi did not name Geever directly, all details pointed to him. (Sarhadi confirmed to Rolling Stone that Geever was the subject of the allegation.) Hours later, Anti-Flag wiped its social media presence — including band members’ personal pages — and released a short statement. “Announcement,” read the post. “Anti-Flag has disbanded.”
Despite upcoming shows in Europe, the group broke up immediately. Instead of acknowledging the accusation, though, the band offered no denial or further explanation. The assault claim contradicted everything Anti-Flag and Geever claimed to stand for. Now, when faced with their own reckoning, there was only silence.
A week later, Geever categorically denied the allegation. “I have never engaged in a sexual relationship that was not consensual, nor have I ever been approached by a woman after a sexual encounter and been told I had in any way acted without her consent or violated her in any way,” he wrote.
IN THIS PHOTO: Kristina Sarhadi in 2023/PHOTO CREDIT: Kristina Sarhadi
The other members — Patrick Bollinger, a.k.a. Pat Thetic, Chris Head, and Chris Barker, a.k.a. Chris No. 2 — released a statement alongside Geever, saying they were “shaken” and “heartbroken” by the accusation, adding it has always been their “core tenet” to believe survivors. “Therefore, we felt the only immediate option was to disband,” they wrote. “While we believe this is extremely serious, in the last 30 years we have never seen Justin be violent or aggressive toward women.”
Sarhadi’s claim, however, is echoed by an additional 12 women who spoke to Rolling Stone about their alleged encounters with Geever, going back to the 1990s and as recently as 2020. These allegations include predatory behavior, sexual assault, and statutory rape, including sexual relations with a 12-year-old when Geever was a teenager. (Geever did not reply to multiple requests for comment after Rolling Stone sent him a detailed list of allegations for this article.)
“He was a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” says Jenn, who met Geever as a 16-year-old in 1997. (Rolling Stone is identifying Jenn by her first name.) “He came across as super supportive. He was like, ‘Yeah, we need more girls in punk rock,’ and ‘Get out there!’ He played the part of lifting women up, but at the same time, he was holding them down, literally”.
“Sarhadi’s claim, however, is echoed by an additional 12 women who spoke to Rolling Stone about their alleged encounters with Geever, going back to the 1990s and as recently as 2020”
The more stories like this that come to light, the more angering it becomes. The more sympathy you feel for women and whether we will ever reach a point where action is taken. In individual cases like this, legal action can be taken. When you look through the years and the number of sexual assault and harassment cases reported, they may be discussed and counted. Beyond that, what happens?! Whether relating to the music industry alone or wider afield, there are shocking and sobering statistics that show that the surge in sexual assault cases is being met with anger and disgust. How much are governments doing to raise awareness and ensure we do not have to see this sort of thing year in year out?! It may seem too big an issue to quickly resolve. Although we are seeing stories of men in music accused or sexual violence and abuse, the outcome varies. Maybe it will result in conviction though, too often, it is merely they are dropped by their label but can walk free. I don’t think there has been any music-targeted campaign or movement where charities, artists, those in the industry and far beyond get involved and put in place something solid, progressive and proactive. At the moment, so many women are fighting to have their voices heard. Great organisations – as I have said in previous features – are out there aiming to keep women safe and informing gig-goers about keeping safe and intervening if they see a case of sexual harassment or assault.
PHOTO CREDIT: Dids/Pexels
This is all very valuable, yet we are still seeing too many stories that show that there is work to be done! Sadly, we have reached a point where extreme stories and artists being called out is not surprising. With every story that breaks revealing sexual assault and abuse in the industry, it needs to be met with action and promises from the industry at large. The big question would be what needs to be done? What can be done? Of course, the problem around making sure all women feel safe is a massive undertaking. It will not be something that can be achieved right away. There does need to be that collective recognition of a huge and unflinching issue that is affecting many women. It has reached a point where we are hearing and seeing too many reports of men in music accused or sexual assault. The music industry is obviously concerned and wants to ensure that women are safe and we do not have to process another disturbing story regarding a musician or music industry figure. By there not being a definitive movement, campaign or pledge wider afield to take such an ongoing and devastating issue, it seems like waving a white flag. Letting women or charities try to tackle it alone. Alongside a zero tolerance approach from labels and venues regarding dropping those accused – rather than cancelling; that is a different thing and something a bit more complex – and taking swift action, there needs to be something more concrete and all-encompassing. We cannot keep seeing news of sexual assault and harassment taking place in the music industry…
PHOTO CREDIT: wayhomestudio/Pexels
WITHOUT huge action being taken.