images via Twitter
THE FOUR members of Otherkin have come together to speak out about the behaviour of certain members of their audience while attending their gigs.
Lead singer Luke Reilly, bassist David Anthony, drum player Rob Summons and guitarist Conor Andrew Wynne have condemned the unprovoked sexual assault many music fans are victims of while watching their favourite band play.
The Irish band, formed in 2014, took to Twitter to thank their fans for continuing to support them but told the story of one female fan at a gig in Camden who was left in tears following being groped by another member of the standing audience.
The four men said the nature of their music does entice large crowds and fast dancing such as 'moshing', however this was no excuse for the assault of this girl and no other member of any crowd at a music gig.
The statement in full reads:
"Our gig in Camden last night was incredible. Honestly one of our favourite shows we’ve ever done in the UK, you guys were in it from the off and you didn’t let up once.
But we need to talk about an incident that happened last night: a girl in tears because she was groped in the mosh pit and apologising to me because she was worried that she was ruining our night by mentioning it. It was fucking heartbreaking.
This is completely not on; not at an Otherkin show, not anywhere. We play loud, fast music. Mosh pits happen, circle pits happen; but if you think you can use either of those as an excuse to force yourself upon someone trying to enjoy themselves at our show then you best fuck back off to the basement you came from because you are certainly not welcome at an Otherkin gig.
Girls! We love seeing you shredding it in the mosh pit and if this ever happens to you at a gig of ours, please let us or one of our crew know and we’ll kick the prick out straight away. This shit needs to get stamped out of live music.
Much love and see you in the pit.
Luke, Conor, David and Rob xx"
#safegigsforwomen pic.twitter.com/gTHrIQKSb8
— OTHERKIN (@OtherkinOK) October 27, 2017
The band used the hashtag 'safe gigs for women', an initiative set up to stop the sexual harassment and assault of women attending large events at venues and create a safer environment for women at gigs and concerts.
