Thousands of festivalgoers at Reading and Leeds festivals will be spoken to about toxic behaviour over the weekend as ministers highlighted efforts to make events safer for women and girls.
Home Office-backed teams are at both festivals in a landmark awareness drive. Women and equalities minister Bridget Phillipson said tackling misogyny is "everyone's business" and voiced support for the Enough campaign.
Ministers speak out
Safeguarding Minister Satvir Kaur told The Mirror: "By speaking directly to hundreds of thousands of young people, we are able to shine a light on forms of abuse that too often go unrecognised. It means we can challenge harmful behaviour and have an important conversation about the need to tackle violence against women and girls.
"This couldn't come at a more vital time. In the year ending March 2025, 5.1 million people aged 16 and over were victims of domestic abuse, stalking or sexual assault - this is completely unacceptable. We will continue to tackle this head-on and make this country safe for women and girls."
Campaign backed by festival organisers
Labour has pledged to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) within a decade and has teamed up with Festival Republic to spread the message.
Women's safety campaigner and influencer Liv Nevill, who backs the Enough campaign, said: "Festivals should be places where women can feel free, have fun and enjoy themselves, but so many of us still have to make constant calculations about our safety that men may never even have to consider.
"Through speaking openly about women's safety on my platform, I've heard from so many women who have experienced the same fear and discomfort in public spaces. That's why the Enough campaign is so important: it helps people recognise behaviours that are too often dismissed or normalised and reminds everyone that creating safer spaces for women is a shared responsibility."
"The more confidently we can recognise and challenge these behaviours, the safer these spaces can become for every woman," added Liv.
Reading and Leeds festivals attract an estimated 150,000 music fans, with Charli XCX, Dave, Florence and The Machine, RAYE and Chase & Status among the headliners.
Government commitment
Ms Phillipson said: "Challenging violence against women and girls and misogynistic views is everyone's business. We all have a part to play in calling it out, and the Enough campaign as part of festival season is an important step in stamping out behaviour that is too often normalised. Halving violence against women and girls is one of this government's key commitments, and from calling out misogyny to using the full force of the law, we will use every lever available to keep women and girls safe."
It comes after Andy Burnham warned the government was moving too slow on tackling VAWG. On Friday he announced all police forces in England and Wales will have specialist rape and sexual offence teams in place by the end of next year - 18 months faster than originally promised. Police chiefs will begin rolling out specialist Protection Order Teams to keep victims safe - with electronic tagging, exclusion zones and compulsory behaviour change programmes.
These orders will be issued by courts even if the perpetrator has not been convicted of a criminal offence. The PM said: "The scale of violence and abuse suffered by women and girls in this country is unacceptable. We must be laser focused on stamping out these vile crimes. These measures were going to be introduced in 2029, but I think that's too slow."
