“I woke up as Riff Raff was pulling out of me and getting into the shower. I crawled – truly, on all fours – out of the hotel room and managed to get outside where I booked a taxi who wouldn’t take me because I was 'too drunk'.” Like many survivors of rape, Eliza says she blamed herself for a long time. I spoke with her while writing this, and she told me it was only after a friend encouraged her last year to name the experience for what it was that she acknowledged that what happened wasn’t her fault. This is what motivated her to share her story when she discovered Riff Raff was due to perform at Richmond’s Corner Hotel this weekend. “I thought if I could warn someone about the kind of person he is, I would have done my job.” Eliza Stafford Credit:Facebook Her post had a much more profound impact than that. Within the next 24 hours, venues all over the country began cancelling Riff Raff’s gigs. The Corner Hotel wrote on their Facebook page, “The Corner & High Fi Events take allegations of sexual assault very seriously, and we have therefore cancelled Riff Raff’s upcoming show... As a venue, we prioritise a safe and inclusive environment and we want anyone who has experienced any incident of sexual harassment or assault to know that we are listening and will support you.” In place of the cancelled gig, the Corner have joined forces with the LISTEN collective to host, "Where to From Here? Music, Community and the 'State of Play'’. Starting at 6pm, the night will include speakers and a panel discussion about the “state of working in and consuming music in a community that is beginning to attune to the endemic nature of sexual harassment and assault across industries”.

Later, LISTEN will launch its “brand new database of women and gender non conforming music makers”, with artists and DJs featuring therein providing entertainment. Proceeds from the ticket sales will go directly to non-profit organisations, as well as $1 from each drink sold. It’s difficult to imagine this kind of response occurring even last year, let alone five years ago when Riff Raff allegedly perpetrated the rape. For her part, Eliza says the response to her post has been “overwhelmingly positive”. With the exception of a few abusive messages (and she hasn’t read the comment thread on the venue cancellation announcements – a wise move), she has been inundated with support. Loading This, too, is reassurance that society might be moving in the right direction when it comes to listening to women’s testimonies and acting appropriately in response. Imagine if this was the standard community response when survivors bravely spoke out about the sexual violence they were subjected to? That instead of fielding allegations of being troublemakers or "women who woke up with a bad case of regret", we actually committed to protecting people who had been violated? False rape allegations are extremely rare, and even rarer than current data indicates when you take into account the fact that most victims of sexual assault and rape don’t file police reports. Logically speaking, it’s more likely than not that complainants are telling the truth, so why does society still consistently cast doubt on their stories?

Is it the fact it has always been easier to believe the men accused than the women naming them? For too long – all of history, really – women have been disbelieved and even ridiculed after speaking out about sexual violence and assault. It is hardly a surprise to hear that Eliza has been contacted by women all over the world who allege they’ve been subjected to the same kind of violence, some of them from the same man. Loading But what’s amazing is knowing that her bravery has inspired these women to speak out themselves, some of them for the first time. On Friday, 20-year-old US woman Kelsey Doucette publicly added her voice to the narrative, with a social media post and follow-up interview with Jezebel accusing Riff Raff of repeatedly trying to touch and kiss her after she rejected his advances after a show in Wisconsin in July 2015.