"Daring leadership is ultimately about serving other people, not ourselves. That's why we choose courage." - Brené Brown
Our Mission:
We provide visibility, safety, advancement, and empowerment
of women with a trauma-informed space for victims of sexual abuse in the music composing industry.
of women with a trauma-informed space for victims of sexual abuse in the music composing industry.
We welcome anyone who self-identifies as female, or non-binary, as full members with access to our meetings and resources.
The Female Composer Safety League (FCSL) was conceived in 2018 by its founder Nomi Abadi and was launched shortly after. Its mission to advocate for the safety and inclusion of women composers serves a vital need in the male-dominated fields of film music, television music, concert music, video game music, and commercial composing. Women composers face a unique risk of sexual abuse in the music industry without a union, HR department, or governing body to enforce a standardized code of conduct in music studios and other composing work environments. Under these conditions, up-and-coming women composers are especially at a high risk of subjection to sexualization and abuse.
Unmonitored composing mentorships and unpaid and low-pay composing internships are especially rife with sexual abuse. Therefore, FCSL advocates for the treatment of fair and safe practices regarding women composers, especially up-and-coming women composers, nonbinary composers and LGBTQ+ women composers who face the highest risk of gender violence and sexual abuse in the composing industry.
Facing trauma in music studios have well-documented lasting effects on the overall success, happiness, and career growth of female composers.
According to a 2021 Women Creators Survey report by MIDiA Research and TuneCore, women music creators reported sexual harassment/objectification as the number one challenge faced in the music business (64%).
FCSL provides safety, inclusion, restoration and a sense of community to all its members no matter the degree to which they have endured sexual abuse and marginalization. Each of our board members have completed trauma and resilience training certification through The Center for Nonviolent Education (Echo). We believe that immediate allyship, comfort after harm, career restoration, emotional support and a sense of belonging are critical resources for women composers in vulnerable situations and those who seek protection from gender-based harm.
FCSL celebrates and promotes a rising Spotlight Member every month and has held over one hundred regular support group meetings for our private members. While closed to the public the meetings are open to our nearly 400 female and non-binary members. Past guest speakers include composers, trauma specialists, producers, directors, politicians, activists, music and attorneys, sexual abuse attorneys, defamation attorneys, therapists, musicians and educators. Since the first meeting FCSL ever held in 2020 and continuing ever since, all closed meetings begin with community-based group agreements crafted by the FCSL community. Through our work, we have found that creating and practicing foundational agreements in recurring communal settings harvests trauma-informed environments which center survivors and allow for all voices to be heard, as well as establishing an emotionally safe, shame-free space that acknowledges the importance of every individual member and their voice. By educating our peers and welcoming mistakes in the learning process, the positive effects from group agreements are palpable as we engage in emotionally high-stakes discussions within our industry.
FCSL has publicly advocated for the implementation of new laws and amendments to be made to preexisting laws to benefit survivors of sexual abuse in accordance with the ever-evolving science of trauma. As such, FCSL has testified in public settings for laws that protect survivors of sexual abuse, including its founder being the first to testify in person at the Judiciary Committee for California State Legislature AB-2777. Our call for systemic change in the music industry has allowed us to speak on panels and at press conferences at organizations like MusiCares, Thinkspace Education, Teammates: A Community of Assistants of Media Composers, International Game Music Con, Video Game Music Con Puerto Rico and APM Music. Our vision to transform the landscape of composing into an industry free from abuse have been warmly recognized in outlets like Rolling Stone, Variety, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, and in a 2021 featured spread in the Women’s Issue of The Hollywood Reporter. FCSL was a recipient of PAVE's Shatter the Silence Award in 2023 presented by actress Pamela Guest.
FCSL is dedicated to reversing the effects of shame and historical silencing on the issue of gender violence and sexual abuse in the composing industry. We are grateful for our growing strength in numbers and all the support we have received as we work toward building an industry that supports survivors and holds perpetrators accountable, where our voices and our music can be heard.
Unmonitored composing mentorships and unpaid and low-pay composing internships are especially rife with sexual abuse. Therefore, FCSL advocates for the treatment of fair and safe practices regarding women composers, especially up-and-coming women composers, nonbinary composers and LGBTQ+ women composers who face the highest risk of gender violence and sexual abuse in the composing industry.
Facing trauma in music studios have well-documented lasting effects on the overall success, happiness, and career growth of female composers.
According to a 2021 Women Creators Survey report by MIDiA Research and TuneCore, women music creators reported sexual harassment/objectification as the number one challenge faced in the music business (64%).
FCSL provides safety, inclusion, restoration and a sense of community to all its members no matter the degree to which they have endured sexual abuse and marginalization. Each of our board members have completed trauma and resilience training certification through The Center for Nonviolent Education (Echo). We believe that immediate allyship, comfort after harm, career restoration, emotional support and a sense of belonging are critical resources for women composers in vulnerable situations and those who seek protection from gender-based harm.
FCSL celebrates and promotes a rising Spotlight Member every month and has held over one hundred regular support group meetings for our private members. While closed to the public the meetings are open to our nearly 400 female and non-binary members. Past guest speakers include composers, trauma specialists, producers, directors, politicians, activists, music and attorneys, sexual abuse attorneys, defamation attorneys, therapists, musicians and educators. Since the first meeting FCSL ever held in 2020 and continuing ever since, all closed meetings begin with community-based group agreements crafted by the FCSL community. Through our work, we have found that creating and practicing foundational agreements in recurring communal settings harvests trauma-informed environments which center survivors and allow for all voices to be heard, as well as establishing an emotionally safe, shame-free space that acknowledges the importance of every individual member and their voice. By educating our peers and welcoming mistakes in the learning process, the positive effects from group agreements are palpable as we engage in emotionally high-stakes discussions within our industry.
FCSL has publicly advocated for the implementation of new laws and amendments to be made to preexisting laws to benefit survivors of sexual abuse in accordance with the ever-evolving science of trauma. As such, FCSL has testified in public settings for laws that protect survivors of sexual abuse, including its founder being the first to testify in person at the Judiciary Committee for California State Legislature AB-2777. Our call for systemic change in the music industry has allowed us to speak on panels and at press conferences at organizations like MusiCares, Thinkspace Education, Teammates: A Community of Assistants of Media Composers, International Game Music Con, Video Game Music Con Puerto Rico and APM Music. Our vision to transform the landscape of composing into an industry free from abuse have been warmly recognized in outlets like Rolling Stone, Variety, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, and in a 2021 featured spread in the Women’s Issue of The Hollywood Reporter. FCSL was a recipient of PAVE's Shatter the Silence Award in 2023 presented by actress Pamela Guest.
FCSL is dedicated to reversing the effects of shame and historical silencing on the issue of gender violence and sexual abuse in the composing industry. We are grateful for our growing strength in numbers and all the support we have received as we work toward building an industry that supports survivors and holds perpetrators accountable, where our voices and our music can be heard.