AR Rahman, sorry isn’t all that you can say

As is seen in this 2017 Justin Bieber concert in Navi Mumbai, the performer is only able to see up to the first few rows. Event organisers say that artistes do take a stand if they see instances of misbehaviour, but only as far as their eyes can reach. Pics/Getty Images

One of the men who groped me literally looked me in the eye [during the act]," says one woman. Another fan recalls how when she asked a man for directions to the exit after she was molested, he "smiled and proceeded to grope me himself". Such horrifying experiences have been pouring out in news reports as well as on social media from those who attended music composer AR Rahman's concert on September 10 in Chennai.

Concerts and live performances that attract massive crowds by virtue of star power always hold a black hole of potential sexual harassers and assaulters at their centre. When mass outrage bursts, the safety of women and marginalised groups in large gatherings becomes a talking point - for a Mumbai minute - and is forgotten until the cycle repeats itself. Several women mid-day spoke to recounted coming out of concerts and occasions of mass recreation or celebration with literal and figurative scars.

Let alone segregation of genders, crowd management itself is a challenge at concerts in India, making it next to impossible to avoid incidents of sexual assault, the recent AR Rahman concert being a case in point, say organisers

"Men will throw water or liquor bottles, stones or whatever they get their hands on if they are at a distance. If they are close enough, the partial lighting and the crowd is all the cover they need. The assault is repeated and merciless. At least two of my friends have stopped going to concerts altogether," a 30-year-old woman from Chembur says.

One of the points raised since Rahman's concert is that the event was poorly managed and overbooked, leading to larger crowds than expected. And thus more anonymity and protection for the assaulters.

Adv Sneha Singh

But, public relations professional and indie artist mentor Schubert Fernandes says safety of women is part of the hygiene automatically taken into consideration whenever an event is planned. "We don't have to sit down and discuss it," he says. "It is understood and not just silently; there are declarations and undertakings that are signed when the contracts are drawn up towards this end. We take into consideration aspects such as the kind of infrastructure the venue has, and how best the available manpower can be deployed to prevent such incidents."

These undertakings include beefy and vigilant bouncers, complaint kiosks and police presence, depending on size and space of the event. Fernandes does admit, though, that crowd management is not the easiest of things in the most populated country in the world.

Bhoomika Singh, Schubert Fernandes and Ritnika Nayan

The police station concerned, too, imposes strict conditions while granting permission to hold public events at venues within its jurisdiction. Any organiser has to seek the permissions from the local police and the conditions are part of the fine print when these are granted.

One such conditions is that it is the organisers' responsibility to ensure there is no violation of law and order, including sexual harassment and assault of women. The organisers are given clear warnings that in case of such an incident, they are liable to face penal action if the probe finds that their measures were inadequate or lacking. The police also deploy personnel for vigilance, patrolling and stock-taking of the steps taken by the organisers to assure safety.

"But not every case reaches us," a senior officer posted in the Western suburbs, where the bulk of concerts and events are held, tells mid-day. "Many incidents are ‘settled' on the spot with an apology, a slap to the abuser or similar actions. We are well aware that the actual number of incidents of sexual assault during public performances is much higher than what is reported to us."

There are also very few documented cases of organisers legally being held responsible for sexual assault against women, with most, if not all cases holding the direct perpetrators culpable for the offence. Most of the action against organisers is limited to incidents such as fires or other accidents. In sexual assault, however, since assaulters and harassers are easier to catch on site, and easier to prove guilty in court or take action against on spot, organisers can evade being held responsible.

Ritnika Nayan, another veteran in the events space, however, says that all the security protocols in the world cannot stop "men from being men" in the grisliest sense. Nayan's music company deals with artiste management, live concerts and consultancy, and she speaks from personal experience: "Men groped me at an auto expo once. It doesn't matter what the event or the venue is - wherever there is a crowd, men will take advantage of it."

We can't help thinking of singer Atif Aslam, who, during the Eat Karachi event in Pakistan in 2017, halted mid-concert when he spotted some male fans sexually harassing a woman and ensured that the culprits were removed immediately. The prompt and proactive action earned the already popular singer an even bigger fan following in India.

"Sure, this is something I've seen most artistes do," says Nayan, who has studied in New York and worked in London, "but they can only see till the first few rows due to the way the lighting is set up at such events. They do take a stand if they are aware of it, but this has its limitations."

Rahman, too, apologised after his concert, seeking forgiveness from the women who were harassed and assaulted at the event. Why, though, does an artiste's stand always come in the form of a reaction? "A tweet after the damage is done is as good as useless," says Advocate Sneha Singh, a practising criminal lawyer who is also an accomplished singer and producer. In the course of her work, she interacts with women who have been assaulted and harassed, as well as with leading figures in the entertainment industry. And she has a collection of horror stories from both spaces.

"Artistes travel all over the country and even the world all throughout the year," says the Versova resident. "If they are vocal about the safety of women, and if they make it clear that they will not stand criminal harassment at their concerts, the message has a stronger chance of getting through. I've been to several events and crowd management is always a very challenging task. But the people come for the love of the artiste. It is time that artistes took a firmer stand than an apology after their female fans have suffered through the worst form of assault."

Precedent proves that this makes an impact, the most recent example being that of actor Jason Momoa, of Game of Thrones fame. After the cult series was released, co-star Emilia Clarke revealed how she was not even given a rug to cover herself while shooting the nude scenes. Crew members openly jeered and leered at her between takes until Momoa threatened the producers with physical violence. Following this revelation, Momoa became a cult icon overnight for his sensitivity.

As Bhoomika Singh, a 21-year-old Goregaon resident and Diljit Dosanjh fan, puts it, "Artistes should definitely take a stand and do it proactively. Talking about any kind of sexual assault is not easy for a woman or for a girl, and the horrors they experience at concerts may never be fully verbalised. But if the performers that draw them there take a stand, it can instil some measure of confidence in the women, and who knows, maybe deter the men in the crowd."
One can only hope.