Chvrches singer opens up on sexist abuse she faces

Chvrches singer opens up on sexist abuse she faces

Laneway Festival headliners Chvrches describe themselves as a band that was born on the internet.

But the medium that propelled the Scottish electronic group to success has also plagued them with a lot of sexist abuse -- mostly directed at singer Lauren Mayberry.

The band's popularity is skyrocketing -- Chvrches rose to fame largely thanks to music blogs and social media.

They released their second album Every Open Eye late last year.

But with success came the online trolls, and singer Mayberry found herself the target of sexist abuse.

She decided to speak up. In 2013 she posted a screen grab of just one of hundreds of unsavoury messages she gets.

"I'm just asking to be taken on an equal platform with the people that I work with," Mayberry says. "It's something that affects women in music, women outside of music [and] minorities across the board. I don't understand the 'don't ask, don't tell' side of it -- it doesn't make sense to me."

She's written articles and appeared on TV about the subject, and hopes she's making a difference.

"The thing I think that is different, is when people send us letters or come to the shows and come to signings, they talk about how the ethos of the band and how it resonates with them," Mayberry says. "If it makes someone feel less alone for two minutes then that's probably a good thing."

The band says they still love connecting with their fans through social media and that won't be changing, no matter how big they get.

Watch the video for the full Newshub report.