Musicians are outraged after more than 40 alleged sexual assaults at music festivals
British folk band Mumford & Sons said they were "gutted" by the news that 5 rapes and 12 sexual assaults allegedly occurred at the Bravalla Festival in Norrkoping, Sweden, which they headlined last weekend, according to a Telegraph report.
"We're appalled to hear what happened at the Bravalla Festival last weekend," the band wrote in a Facebook post. "Festivals are a celebration of music and people, a place to let go and feel safe doing so. We're gutted by these hideous reports."
Mumford & Sons added that they would refuse to play the festival again until Swedish police had cracked down on the "disgustingly high rate of reported sexual violence" on the festival grounds.
Swedish singer Zara Larsson similarly took to social media to attack the festival assaults in a string of tweets. Translated from Swedish by Fuse, Larsson's tweets condemned the attackers for "making girls feel insecure when they go to a festival."
Meanwhile, Swedish police recieved another 32 reports of sexual assault from the Putte i Parken festival in Karlstad, Sweden, wherein "the youngest alleged victim" was a 12-year-old girl, according to an Associated Press report.
Swedish police reportedly faced backlash earlier this year for allegedly attempting to cover up news of widespread sexual assaults of young women at Swedish music festivals.
Business Insider has reached out to representatives from both festivals for comment.