Jaguar Jonze Announces Striking New EP 'Victim Impact Statement'

Australian artist, creator, and activist Jaguar Jonze will make her return to music this month, announcing her powerful new EP Victim Impact Statement, which is due for release on Friday, 23 February.

The new EP follows Jonze’s 2022 debut album, Bunny Mode. Jonze announced the latest release via Instagram, revealing it as an intimate project designed to “take back her art, her body, and her identity after five years of advocacy and reliving her trauma”, per a press release.

In a statement shared on social media, Jonze wrote about her absence from the internet, recalling the alleged abuse she suffered at the hands of two producers in 2019 and the increasing trauma that followed.

“For five years, I advocated in the media, music industry and government for safety in our workplaces. At the same time, I had to fight for my own justice and protection through countless court hearings and proceedings,” she wrote. “Towards the end of 2023, the criminal court trial of this case ended in a mistrial after a merciless cross-examination and was relisted later this year to start all over again.”

She cited the “burnout from all this trauma” as she tried to maintain her music career, writing that she was “broken, fatigued and lost my purpose.” She continued, “I didn’t know how to be an artist in a society so stained with systemic abuse as well as meet expectations to be both a perfect victim and a tireless advocate.

“On February 23rd, I’m releasing my intimate EP ‘Victim Impact Statement’ to return my voice and own my body. To break out of the silence and take back my power. To grieve and repair. I am slowly finding the courage to create again. It would mean so much if you could support my journey back into my artistry.”

You can pre-order or pre-save Victim Impact Statement here and here.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jaguar Jonze (@jaguarjonze)

In addition to the EP’s release, Jonze will perform two special concerts with special guest Haru Nemuri, who starred alongside her on the track ANGRY ANGRY.

The shows will take place at the Worker’s Club, Melbourne (Naarm), on Tuesday, 27 February, and The Lady Hampshire, Sydney (Eora), on Thursday, 29 February. You can buy tickets here.

In a 2023 The Music cover story, Jonze said, “I think people have a lot of respect for me as an advocate, but I'm not quite seen and understood as an artist yet.”

Telling us about her plans for the remainder of 2023 and 2024, she continued, “I’m going to tell my stories in the way that I entered the music industry to do in the first place, which is through my art.”

This article makes mentions of assault and trauma. If you or someone you know is affected by these experiences and needs to contact someone, please get in touch with 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au.