A “CIS MAN-FREE” festival has been held in Sweden, in response to a string of alleged sexual assaults at the country’s biggest music festival.

The Statement music festival in Gothenburg claims to be the world’s first major music gathering for women, transgender and non-binary people only. It took place Friday and Saturday at Bananpiren in Gothenburg.

Swedish comedian Emma Knyckare came up with the idea after reports of multiple sexual offenses at Bravalla festival last year and in 2016.

“The whole area is free of cis-men,” Knyckare told Euronews. “We work exclusively with women, non-binary and transgender persons. This ranges from artists to catering to security personnel.”

Cisgender is the term applied to an individual whose gender matches their assigned sex at birth. A trans or non-binary person is someone whose gender or gender identity is different to their birth-assigned sex.

To stop men getting in, the festival worked with a specialized security company to develop a specialized “access system.”(SD-Agencies)

Knyckare said the #MeToo movement had unveiled “serious problems” in Sweden, which is one of the most gender equal nations in the world, at festivals and also several institutions.

“It seems like men have woken up to how huge the problem with sexual violence is,” Ms Knyckare told AFP.

Guests at The Statement festival seemed positive about the event and the message it was sending about a zero tolerance of sexual misconduct.

“This place feels like a safe-zone where women can just get together and have fun and celebrate ... especially in light of the assaults that have happened at other festivals,” Julia Skonneby, a 34-year-old performer, told The Local.

“It feels like a certain tension is gone... we’re here to make a statement together,” Hanna Gustavsson, a 31-year-old designer, added.