Sweden's 'man-free' music festival found guilty of discrimination

Festival billed as world's first major music festival for women, non-binary and transgender only

A 'man free' feminist music festival in Sweden has been found guilty of discrimination, Mail Online reported.

The event, called "Statement", was held in Gothenburg earlier in August, having been billed as 'the world's first major music festival for women, non-binary and transgender only'.

But describing the festival as 'male-free' was a violation of anti-discrimination legislation, Sweden's Discrimination Ombudsman (DO) ruled.

Men were not prevented from buying a ticket or entering the festival grounds, however, male members of artists' entourages and the likes of technicians and managers were reportedly restricted to a so-called 'man-pen' in a backstage area.

"It is important to point out what an infringement is. These are the statements made before the festival, DO press officer Clas Lundstedt said in a statement.

"Still, we haven't been able to prove that someone would have been discriminated against in connection with the implementation or that someone would have been rejected."

Lundstedt said nobody suffered damage as a result of the event saying men were not welcome and there will be no penalty for organisers.

The festival was billed as being a 'safe space' featuring 'cis-men free' artists, security and catering.

The term cisgender refers to a man or a woman whose gender matches the sex they were at birth.

A trans or non-binary person is someone whose gender does not conform to their sex assigned at birth.

The article originally appeared in Mail Online