Koopmans Clarifies Bravalla Assaults

Promoter Folkert Koopmans says two of the five rape reports from Sweden’s Bravalla Festival have been withdrawn, and that three could have been better described as sexual harassment.

“In Sweden we work very hard to protect women, and therefore the police initially report many kinds of sexual crimes as rape. The law was created to protect the victims, and Swedish women are encouraged to stand up and report any type of sexual harassment – much more so compared to most other countries.

As a result we receive a high number of reported rapes and other incidents,” Koopmans said. He went on to say “we had five incidents during the festival. Three of them happened in front of the stages (sexual harassment), and two of them were reported from couples who actually knew each other. Both of those cases have been taken back.

“The police made clear that both the festival audience and the festival organization had done a great job. But we did have tragic incidents that a few sick male individuals were responsible for,” Koopmans said.

Dozens of women have reported rapes and sexual assaults at Swedish festivals Bravalla, Putte i Parken and Säljerydfestival. The youngest alleged victim is reportedly 12 years old. Swedish police registered a total of 47 sexual assault reports so far, 35 of which came from the free open-air Putte i Parken in Karlstad.