More than 2,000 women in Sweden’s music industry have added their names to a public letter that denounces sexual harassment and abuse in their business as part of the growing #MeToo campaign that has taken off globally.
The list of 2,192 names was published over the weekend by Sweden’s Dagens Nyheter newspaper after being endorsed in a closed Facebook group for women in the country’s music business, NPR reported.
The letter’s goal is to confront what two female musicians described to NPR as “a global structural problem that needs to change.”
“We hope we can inspire women in all industries to speak out against sexual harassment. We already know of other countries who are working on their own letters,” First Aid Kit, the Swedish duo of sisters Klara and Johanna Söderberg, told the news outlet.
See the full list of names here.
The letter also includes extremely disturbing accounts of rape, assault, harassment and discrimination that the women say they have faced, with some describing themselves as teenagers when the events took place.
“But we will no longer be silent. We demand zero tolerance for sexual exploitation or violence. Sexual assault or violence will have consequences in terms of terminations of contracts,” the letter reads. “The people in power in the industry ― it’s your responsibility to make sure that no one is sexually vulnerable at the work place, and you have failed.”
The letter, which signs off with “we know who you are,” adds that they will “put shame back where it belongs ― with the perpetrators and the people protecting them.”
The publication of the letter occurred shortly after a top executive at Warner Music Sweden was suspended amid multiple allegations of sexual misconduct involving employees and artists, Billboard reported.
In a statement to NPR, which did not identify the executive by name, Warner Music Group said it is taking the allegations “very seriously.”
“We have suspended the individual concerned while a thorough independent investigation is conducted. We’ve also held an internal meeting in Stockholm to reiterate to our team the avenues available to make any complaints and how carefully and swiftly we will respond,” the statement read.