The Swedish anti-discrimination body has found the "man-free" Statement Festival breached discrimination laws.
Held in Sweden's second-largest city of Gothenburg last year, the two-day Statement Festival, forbid men from attending but not transgender people.
The festival was organised in response to four rape and 23 sexual assault reports made to police at Sweden's largest Bravalla Festival, which was cancelled this year as a result.
But after receiving several complaints, the Equality Ombudsman, a government agency that promotes equal rights and handles discrimination complaints, asked the festival to specify what it means by "cis men".
On Monday, Sweden's Discrimination Ombudsman (DO) found describing the festival as "man-free" amounted to "an infringement of discrimination law", according to The Local.
However, the DO said the investigation found no individual had actually been discriminated against.
"No differentiation based on sex was made between visitors at entry," the findings read.
But "public statements which clearly discourage" persons from engaging in the event amounted to gender-discrimination, according to the publication.
Statement festival
Located inside an industrial building in Gothenburg's harbour, only female bands performed.
Comedian Emma Knyckare launched the event as the world's first major music festival for "women, non-binary and transgender only."
Statement, launched after raising more than 500,000 kronor (47,000 euros, $54,000) through crowdfunding, defines a transgender person as "a person who does not identify with the sex assigned to them at birth".
This means transgender women were allowed to attend.
Only men who identify with the sex they were assigned at birth, also called cis men, were banned.
- With AFP
