Survey finds one in five UK festival attendees has been sexually harassed or assaulted

A new YouGov survey found 43% of women under 40 experience some form of unwanted sexual conduct at UK festivals.

June 18, 2018
Survey finds one in five UK festival attendees has been sexually harassed or assaulted A crowd at the Glastonbury Festival. June 23, 2010.   Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images

One in five of all UK festival goers say they've experienced sexual assault or harassment, according to a new YouGov survey as spotted by The Guardian.

ADVERTISEMENT

22% of all attendees reported some form of sexual misconduct, with “unwelcome and forceful dancing” listed as the most common example.The numbers are increasingly stark among female attendees: 30% of women and 43% of women under 40 told YouGov they faced unwelcome sexual behaviour at UK festivals.

The survey also found a gender divide in reporting assault and harassment. While only 1% of all women said they'd told festival staff about sexual misconduct, 19% of men said they had (in total, the survey found 2% of respondents told festival staff). Only 2% of those who experienced sexual misconduct went to the police.

ADVERTISEMENT
Survey finds one in five UK festival attendees has been sexually harassed or assaulted