One in three women are sexually harassed at festivals, says report

One in five British festival goers have experienced sexual assault or harassment at an event, according to new research.

Campaigners said the figures, believed to be the first of their kind, should be a wakeup call for the industry to start treating sexual violence seriously at festivals.

The poll showed 22 per cent of all Britons who have been to a festival faced some kind of unwanted sexual behaviour, rising to almost one in three of women (30 per cent) and almost half (43 per cent) of women under 40.

The most common forms of unwanted sexual behaviour experienced by respondents were forceful dancing and sexualised verbal harassment.

Eleven per cent of women had experienced sexual assault while they were conscious, compared to 3 per cent of men, and 4 per cent of women said they were sexually assaulted while unconscious or asleep, compared to 2 per cent of men. Only 2 per cent of festival goers who were assaulted or harassed reported the incident to the police, according to the figures, suggesting the issue is significantly underreported.

Separate data released in the Crime Survey for The poll, in which Yougov surveyed 1,188 festival goers for the Press Association, also revealed 70 per cent of those who experienced sexual assault or harassment at a festival said the perpetrator was a stranger.

Only 1 per cent of women reported sexual assault or harassment to a member of festival staff.