The Black Madonna on sexual assault: "The cost of doing business in this industry"

The Black Madonna is an adamant voice for females of the dance music industry and has spoken to Trax Magazine to share more insight and her own experiences as an artist.

Specifically focusing on the issue of sexual harassment and discrimination, The Black Madonna highlighted countless accounts and messages concerning assault, inappropriate behavior and violation and explained that these types of occurrences are "taken for granted as 'the cost of doing business' in this industry".

"I’m not a counsellor, I’m not a professional, I don’t have any credentials in this situation," she explained in regards to her image as a role model for the female community. "What I am is a woman who has managed to tour a lot and speak openly about issues that I think were at a certain point fairly off-limits for discussion".

The discussion also brought up the debate between pop artist Ke$ha who recently went through a highly-publicized sexual assault case with noted producer Dr. Luke.

"I think that women who are learning to produce often face a very particular set of challenges that men do not. But also, like men, a lot of times we begin learning within our peer groups; sometimes that can mean a boyfriend or a close male friend, and that’s normal. In that sense, women beginning in the industry are very normal. But because we live on Earth, where misogyny and abuse are often built into the relationships between men and women, a lot of times women encounter abuse built into their early peer groups or relationships with mentors.

"I know many, many women who have struggled to come out of that cycle. Many women, like Ke$ha, have had abuse built into their partnerships or mentorships."

Read the full interview on Trax Magazine.

Sydney is Mixmag's US Digital Content Editor. Follow her on Twitter here