Phoebe Lunny (Lambrini Girls): She was arrested after warning others about a dangerous musician. He remains free.
Phoebe was out running when she got a call from a blocked number. The police were on the line. They told her someone had filed a harassment complaint against her, and she needed to come in.
When she arrived at the station, the police arrested her immediately.
Phoebe Lunny, the vocalist and guitarist of Lambrini Girls, had sent a few emails to concert promoters and festival bookers. She warned them that a musician on their lineups was, in her words, “really dodgy” and suggested that, for the safety of women, he should be removed from the shows. The musician found out, filed a complaint, and the system sided with him.
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Lunny was at risk of spending up to six months in prison. The case was eventually closed, but as part of a “community resolution,” she had to write him an apology letter. In it, she had to say she was wrong, that she didn’t know what she was doing, and that she had been selfish.
She shared her story on April 20th at A View From A Bridge, a public event where guests speak in front of a red telephone on a bridge. She did not name the musician and later explained on social media that she did not want anyone to try to find him.
Instead, she called out the system.
“The system is there to aid and protect dangerous men,” she said. She also pointed out that many men who call themselves allies only speak out against sexism online but do nothing real. “What if instead of saying ‘I’m not like that,’ they actually did something? Instead of leaving it to women to deal with all of this.”
She ended with a stark fact: one in three women has been or will be a victim of sexual assault. “And we keep centring the conversation on men.”
Last year, Lambrini Girls released Who Let The Dogs Out, which became one of the most celebrated punk debuts in the UK. Earlier this year, Phoebe broke her neck and suffered a serious brain injury while touring in Australia. This forced the band to withdraw from Coachella and delay their North American tour. Now, they face another setback. The band has spent years speaking out about issues most people avoid, and they continue to pay the price for refusing to stay silent.
How many people have stayed silent out of fear that the same thing could happen to them?
