Ms Anna Ní Nualláin:

Is mise ceann de na mic léinn a thosaigh an ghluaiseacht MiseFosta. Our main aim as a collective is to change the culture of abuse within the Irish traditional music and dance scene. It began in a very organic way in June 2020 through an Instagram story that I posted, highlighting some of the abusive behaviour that had been going on. Lockdown gave everyone much time to think, and we quickly realised that many of us had spent more time consoling friends who had experienced sexual assault at recent festivals than we had spent enjoying the music. The speed at which the movement gained traction was the thing that surprised us all; from a post on my personal account, to hundreds of people, the vast majority of whom were girls and young women, coming forward, and an "RTÉ Investigates" episode helping to shine a light on what was happening, where a number of brave women stepped forward to tell their stories.

It was soon clear that many knew that abuse was happening on some scale, but nobody wanted to or felt that they could speak up about it. We realise now that although the nature of abuse is not unique to the traditional scene, there are certain endemic features that act as enabling mechanisms for abuse within the scene. These mechanisms facilitate and almost promote abusive behaviour, and also make it hard to talk about or address. For example, we are an incredibly tight-knit community with many unregulated social situations, which can be lovely, but it can also mean that your abuser is your fiddle teacher, a family friend, a well-respected musician or in your friend group. We have had reports that speaking out against abuse has lost people gigs, friendships, touring opportunities and invited further harassment through victim blaming, social isolation and ostracisation.

We have had amazing positive responses for the most part, but some have been less supportive, with people disregarding women’s stories as “salacious gossip”, “defiling our wholesome tradition” and “ruining men’s careers”. This leads me to believe that the image and reputation of the tradition is seen as more important than the safety of those who make up that tradition.

It is not feasible or realistic to expect victims, especially those who are young, to tackle this on their own. I have often asked myself why a group of young people in their teens and early twenties are dealing with hundreds of stories of abuse and have people in higher and more influential positions turn to us and ask what to do next. It is not our responsibility; it is the responsibility of those institutions and companies that promote, run, organise and receive State funding for and profit from the traditional music.

MiseFosta greatly appreciates the chance to come and speak to the committee. We support the ITI’s work and recommendations; it is a step in the right direction but there is still much more to be done. As we quickly begin the transition between having been a predominantly social media run movement to the return of in-person festivals and gigs, time is not on our side.