Rebekah (full name Rebekah Parmar) touched on her origins in music in an interview with Annabel Ross for The Guardian, recounting that she asked if a record store had any jobs at the age of 17 and was met with the reply, “Yeah, you can give me a blowjob.” She said that not long after that incident, she was raped by an acquaintance who agreed to teach her how to mix records.

By age 21, Parmar had begun touring internationally. She suspects that a promoter in Eastern Europe snuck into her hotel room and sexually assaulted her while she slept; she ran into him in another country where she says he attempted to coerce her into sex.

“It makes me look stupid, knowing he possibly did the first assault to go back and put myself in that position,” Parmar said. “This is where, as a young DJ, I was kind of ruthless because I would do whatever, when I had my eyes on something, at the cost of myself.”

Parmar said she received messages from women who shared similar experiences following her post about Morillo, who was scheduled to appear in court for a sexual battery case three days after his death. She started #ForTheMusic a few weeks later. Thus far, her efforts have resulted in the Association for Electronic Music developing a nightlife code of conduct that outlines how to identify, prevent and report sexual misconduct as well as gender discrimination.

“Can we live with ourselves, to keep bringing more women [DJs and producers] in knowing that this is going on?” Parmar’s interview closed out. “I can’t, and I think we’re really strong now. This is like an army. That has to speak volumes.”

“After deciding I would like to mentor people to help bring them in to the industry it became apparent I was unable to do this unless I stood up and tried to fight to make the industry a safer place all round,” Parmar shared in a statement on the catalyst behind the campaign. “How can I mentor women and members of the LGBQT++ community, knowing they will face sexism, harassment and at worst, assault and rape and stay silent on this issue?”

#ForTheMusic will share stories of sexual harassment and assault survivors in the dance music industry to “raise awareness and combat a culture of silence which turns a blind eye to the presence of violence and abuse.” In addition to drawing attention to the issues, the campaign will pursue “drastic change in nightclubs, venues and festivals across the globe in hope that these places of work and entertainment adopt a zero tolerance policy to harassment by creating a safe space for all to be enjoyed without the threat of sexual predators.”

Community Effort

To ignite a grassroots movement, Rebekah has asked her social media followers to sign and share a petition on Change.org that demands accountability on sexual assault and rape allegations from the dance music industry. “We all must be accountable and speak up about the abusers, allow people the benefit of the doubt when claiming abuse, as many stay silent for fear of retribution,” Parmer stated.

The petition presses action specifically from clubs and artists. It appeals to holding venue owners accountable for ensuring a safe space for performers, employees, and audiences free from sexual harassment. Artists and performers are called on to end a culture of silence, be allies, and to speak out when they witness sexual harassment happening.

#MeToo Resurgence

Following its 2017 viral breakthrough, the #MeToo movement saw a resurgence this summer in the electronic music community as accusations emerged against high profile artists like Derrick May, Eric Morillo, and Billy Kenny.

As Morillo’s death was met by tributes from major artists like Jamie Jones, Joseph Capriati, Steve Lawler, Sven Väth, and Carl Cox earlier this month, Rebekah was outspoken on the lack of acknowledgment of his alleged misdeeds. It presumably galvanized her to launch the #ForTheMusic campaign.

New Normal

The #ForTheMusic campaign comes at a time where dance music events are at a standstill amid the COVID-19 pandemic. While many wonder what the new normal for live music events will look like, Parmar hopes it will come with positive, industry-wide changes on sexual harassment.

“We have a great opportunity to now assess what kind of industry we want to return to when it opens back up, what kind of people we place in these powerful positions and how we can we make clubs, festivals and after parties a safer place,” Parmar said.

“I’m feeling really vulnerable and emotional posting this as I have been questioning what my outrage has been over the passing of Erick Morillo, and how the fact his alleged rape and court case have not been mentioned once, as my fellow colleagues share their thoughts on his passing, painting a picture of ‘a humble guy who was far from perfect,’ etc.” wrote Parmar in an Instagram post. “All this has done is brought up feelings of my past and the shit I have dealt with, and the fact that even if I had tried to talk about what had happened my perpetrators would still have been excused and somehow it would actually be my fault.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

I’m feeling really vulnerable and emotional posting this as I have been questioning what my outrage has been over the passing of Erick Morillo and how the fact his alleged rape and court case has not been mentioned once as my fellow colleagues share their thoughts on his passing painting a picture of “a humble guy who was far from perfect” etc etc. All this has done is brought up feelings of my past and the shit I have dealt with and the fact that even if I had tried to talk about what had happened my perpetrators would still of been excused and somehow would actually be my fault. This is not me talking bad about the deceased but really the need to reach out to the women who may have had similar experiences to share that I know how this feels but I don’t know how to change things within the industry as now it seems we still have a long way to go but maybe together we are stronger ?

A post shared by Rebekah (@djrebekah) on Sep 3, 2020 at 3:35am PDT

Parmar was presumably referring to an Instagram post made by U.K. DJ and producer Jamie Jones, who wrote “of course Erick was not perfect” and that he “was a kind-hearted and humble human…” Joseph Capriati, Steve Lawler, Sven Väth, and Carl Cox are among other notable DJs who have portrayed Morillo in a positive light in their own posts upon learning of his passing.

Erick Morillo 1971 -2020

Carl Cox
Nic Fanciulli
Black Coffee
David Penn pic.twitter.com/OSqb8bRGbY

— Business Teshno (@businessteshno) September 2, 2020

Since Parmar spoke out, however, others in house and techno have followed suit.

“Tributes pouring out for Erick Morillo in our industry, calling him a legend before calling him a rapist, goes to show how far we are away from reaching any kind of equality,” reads a passage of a statement Australian artist HAAi shared to her Instagram Story. It was reposted by Amelie Lens, Jensen Interceptor and others.

“By using your platform to pay tribute to someone who raped a woman, you are telling all of your followers that you are okay with rape,” the post goes on. “It is possible to grieve privately; it’s no more meaningful to make a public post which screams ‘rape is okay if you were a nice guy.'”

Complicated Legacy

In the weeks leading up to his death, Erick Morillo was the most recent high-profile electronic musician to fall out of public favor for allegations of sexual misconduct. The #MeToo movement that unfolded in 2017 saw a resurgence this summer, bringing to light accusations against artists like Bassnectar, Space Jesus and Billy Kenny too numerous for their respective fan bases to ignore.

Aside from his passing, one factor that sets Morillo’s case apart is that the evidence supporting the allegations against him was sufficient to warrant his arrest. The August 6th results of a rape kit tested positive with his DNA after his accuser, a fellow DJ, told the police that he raped her in December of 2019, prompting him to turn himself in the same day. Less than a month later, Miami police responded to a 911 call and found him dead in his home.

The mixed response to Morillo’s death shows that expectations for how alleged abusers are to be remembered have changed in the wake of #MeToo. The fact that Morillo will never be tried in court further complicates the matter as his alleged victim will not get to see the case brought to justice in a court of law.

The Miami Dade Medical Examiner has yet to determine Erick Morillo’s official cause of death at the time of writing.