Girls Against

Meet the five teenagers taking on sexual harassment

Gigs give us plenty of things to worry about, from whether we'll get to the barrier and who the support act will be, to if our favourite song will be played, and now, sexual harassment.

No longer safe spaces were music fans can come together, gigs are increasingly becoming sources of anxiety for many, so much so it has prevented some fans from seeing certain bands or going to certain venues again. 

Luckily there is a solution in the form of five teenagers from Glasgow, Edinburgh and London. 

Entitled Girls Against their aim is to raise awareness and ultimately eradicate sexual harassment from venues up and down the country. 

Their campaign has already garnered attention from the likes of Peace and Wolf Alice, aswell as the NME and BBC, their support showing how widespread the issue is. 

We spoke to one of the group's members, Hannah, about the campaign, feminism and how you can do your bit...

There's no better time than now.

What is Girls Against and what is your aim?

Girls Against is a campaign set up by myself (Hannah) and my five best friends - Anna, Anni, Ava and Bea to raise awareness and combat sexual harassment at gigs. Our primary aims at the moment are to continue raising awareness by getting the support of bands and their fans. At the moment we're in contact with venues and their respective security companies to make sure they have proper training in place to deal with the issue.

How can we get involved?You can follow us on social media! Having a decent following on the internet is so important in getting anything done in this day and age - something we think is really great! Keep an eye out on our twitter for our online shop which will be coming soon so you can rep us with our awesome merch. Also keep an eye out on twitter because we'll tweet if we're ever going to a concert and you can maybe join us! If you're an aspiring writer or journalist or generally just have an interest in writing we are taking submission for articles to go up on our blog. These can be on anything to do with inter-sectional feminism - we have a great platform so we want to use it!

Is Girls Against exclusively for girls?No! Absolutely not, we're inter-sectional feminists so we recognise that this happens to everyone no matter the gender - i.e. we support binary, trans and non- binary people. 

Since starting the campaign how many people have come to you with similar stories of sexual harassment? Have you noticed any trends? 

So many! It's kind of ridiculous the amount of stories we receive. To be honest there hasn't been  huge amount of pattern - it just shows how much it happens and that it doesn't just happen at a particular type of show.

Do you think the amount of sexual harassment at gigs has increased or are people just being more vocal about it?

It might have increased, there are no definite statistics so we can't really make a definite statement. People definitely have become more vocal about it and I think that's in part due to the increased feminist discussion. Although it has been going on for years, Peace invited Bea our London member, and Sam (Koisser, bassist) from the band was telling her how it had happened to his mum so it's not suddenly manifested itself recently.

If vocal, why? Do you think it's a result of the recent increase in feminism?

Yeah absolutely, with the rise of pop feminism and other things like that which we think is a really great thing!

What can gig goers do to prevent sexual harassment at gigs?

Being aware that it goes on is a huge part of it. Obviously, letting security know is a great help if you can see it happening.

Follow Girls Against's campaign on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr

LIVE// Peace

The Bodega Nottingham// 07/02/15

B-town boys spread their message of peace and happiness in Nottingham 

Tonight sees Peace take to The Bodega's tiny stage for the third time in what has effectively become a residency of sorts, in support of their forthcoming second album 'Happy People.' It's sold out - again, testament to the fact that they could be playing in venues much bigger than this,yet have taken to being holed in joints across the country for days at a time as a 'thankyou' to the fans who have waited patiently for them to finish writing the follow up to their debut 'In Love'.  

Opener Higher Than The Sun taken from that album sees that the fans - who've been queuing outside in the cold for hours- are thoroughly warmed up, before the band rip through an enthralling rendition of Follow Baby.

Happy People and Perfect Skin are the first of the new cuts to be given a live airing, the latter proving that the band haven't lost their ear for an indie anthem whilst they've been away. Money is next, and despite being released barely a year ago, still incites the kind of reaction you'd expect from a song ten times it's age. Whilst 1998 transforms the crowd into a heaving mass of bodies and flailing limbs, that looks as though it might burst at the seems at one more swirling blissed-out crescendo. 

The band re-take to the stage for Someday, which sees frontman Harry Koisser adopt an almost Jake Bugg-like croon, for a song that will undoubtedly soundtrack every indie-kid crush to come, before World Pleasure sees the band's set- and residency -culminate in Peace's trademark pizzazz.

Their time in Nottingham may have come to an end, but for Peace the tour is far from over, a date in the capital follows and then who knows? If the success of 'Happy People' thus far is anything to go by, it looks as though it won't be long before the world succumbs to their pleasure.