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Women crowdfund legal defence for defamation after making allegations against ‘well-known musician’

Crowdfunding campaign launched to raise money for legal defence

Lydia Smith
Sunday 22 October 2017 19:45 BST
Group has raised more than £13,000 on crowdfunding platform
Group has raised more than £13,000 on crowdfunding platform

A group of women are crowdfunding their legal defence after being hit with a defamation case for speaking out against “a well-known musician” concerning his “treatment of women.”

The Solidarity Not Silence group claims to comprise of ex-partners of the musician - who is referred to in the case as “A” - and feminist musicians who spoke out in support of the women.

They have launched a campaign on CrowdJustice.com to cover the legal costs to fight the case.

More than £13,000 has been raised so far, surpassing the group’s initial target of £9,000, which has now been raised to £20,000.

“In 2016 we each independently made a number of public statements about A's behaviour towards women,” the group states.

“This was in protest against unacceptable behaviour in the music community, a cause we all speak about regularly, and to promote safety.”

“Soon afterwards, we received letters from A's solicitor and came together as a group in order to support each other.”

No legal aid is offered for defamation cases, which required the group to set up a crowdfunding platform to raise money for their defence.

The women claim that the unnamed musician had demanded “compensation, legal costs, removal of our statements, apologies, and agreement not to repeat these allegations, or similar ones, even though they concerned our own experiences.”

The group highlighted the “tremendous emotional and psychological impact” of the case, adding many of the women involved had “suffered severely” with their mental health as a consequence.

On the crowdfunding page, the women state they do not want the case to “set a precedent for silencing marginalised voices in the music industry and beyond.”

The group has pledged to keep fighting, despite stating they “do not have the same power, fame or financial backing as A.”

“We refuse to be silenced and we need your solidarity to fight this case,” the women state.

The group has been contacted for comment.

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