SlutWalk

The Movement

_{SlutWalk Toronto. April 3, 2011.}

In 2011, Constable Michael Sanguinetti, a Toronto police officer had advised a group of women that they should “avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized”. This angered two women, Heather Jarvis and Sonya Barnett, who saw this comment as a way of slut-shaming and victim-blaming women. Eager to take a stand and be an advocate for women rights, Jarvis and Barnett used the power of social media to invite the public to join them on a ‘SlutWalk’ to Toronto Police Headquarters. On April 3, 2011, several thousands of people had showed up to protest against rape culture that perpetuates the myth that what women wear are a reason for why they are raped and assaulted.

What started out as a protest against the policeman’s comment about rape-avoidance strategy has now turned Slutwalk into a movement. It was a new form of activism that protested against gender-based violence .

SlutWalk Toronto

Online

While the SlutWalk marches were successful in gaining attention, feminists from around the world had created spaces online to connect with one another. This allowed them to share their thoughts and opinions, personal stories, and identify issues that required action . SlutWalk Facebook and Twitter pages from all over the world show that groups of women regularly comment and share relevant content; they shared information on when the next march, fundraiser and other events will be. Through platforms like Twitter, feminists and SlutWalk supporters were able to come together and work as a unified group to end rape culture.

While a simple ‘like’ or retweet on social media may only seem like a minor act of support, the act of rebroadcasting and sharing others’ information showed that they supported each other regardless of where they were from.

Hashtags like #rapecultureiswhen became a trending topic to educate and to oppose those who believed rape culture didn’t exist. Those who took a stand would use that hashtag, followed with a personal story or their statement of what rape culture meant to them.

Worldwide

What initially sparked an outrage in Toronto quickly became a movement that spread throughout the world. Feminists of all ages and genders, LGBT communities, and pro-feminist men have participated in SlutWalks. In 2011 alone, over 200 cities and at least 40 countries formed their own SlutWalk marches. These marches spanned from Spain, Norway, South Korea, Indonesia, to England .

They came together as a community and walked with pride. Women wore anything from bikinis, the clothes that they had been raped in, to remaining conservative. Grandmothers, men, children, gays, lesbians, and transgender people participated in these marches together, holding homemade signs and other paraphernalia in support of the movement.

Global movement

The movement also went viral and people fr9m other countries started the movement too.

Switzerland The Swiss movement was created in August 2012, by women from Geneva and Lausanne. Since then, the collective organised four marches and other event. The Swiss Slutwalk is an associat1ion by law since May 2014.

United Kingdom

Researchers Jessica Ringrose and Emma Renold interviewed members of a self-organized 'girl power' group in a school in Cardiff, Wales. The aims of the group of Year 8 (age 13) and above students had evolved to the delivery of personal social health and economic education (PHSE) lessons to younger students in the school. When asked about the 'SlutWalk', planned for Cardiff in a few weeks time, it led to "an uncomfortable silence, uneasy smiles and raised eyebrows from the two women teachers leading the group." Ringrose and Renold concluded that there was a paradox between teachers that "were incredibly supportive of the general message of the SlutWalk," but who "were simultaneously faced with the ongoing struggle of confronting the sexual regulation experienced by girls in a sanitised school space where 'slut' is a banished and punishable sexual swearword." The teachers went on to say that the girls, "probably can't go, we'll go on the march for them". On the day of the march (4 June 2011), however, a number of the girls did turn up with their mothers and met up with their teachers. Latin America Slutwalks in Latin America were renamed "Marcha das Vadias" in Brazil and "La Marcha de las Putas" in most Spanish-speaking countries, sometimes using PUTAS as an acronym for "Por una transformación Auténtica y Social (For an Authentic Social Transformation)" Countries like Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia were known to host simultaneous Slutwalks in different cities. In all countries, Slutwalks were repeated annually at least once, although not always in the same cities. Some protests selected their dates to match significant events such as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and the World Youth Day.

There were interactions noted between the organizers in different countries. Organizers from Argentina had previously contacted their counterparts in Mexico and Venezuela through social networks, and artist Adriana Minolitti participated in Mexican Slutwalks before becoming an organizer herself at Buenos Aires.They were, in turn, contacted by organizers in Bolivia and Uruguay to get assistance. Also, the organizer of the national Slutwalk at Colombia had some previous interaction with organizers in Peru, and Argentine activist Leonor Silvestri travelled to Chile to help organize La Marcha de las Maracas in Santiago. There was also an active participation of the LGBT community, and there was a common presence of sex workers, or expressions of solidarity with them. There was also a common regional chant: "¡Alerta, alerta, alerta que camina la Marcha de las Putas por América Latina!" (Alert! Alert! Alert, the sluts are walking down Latin America!).

All protests shared the rejection of Sanguinetti’s sayings, and some of them were also directed to local state authorities and Catholic church representatives whose public comments reinforced gender stereotypes and violence against women. Costumes representing Catholic characters were also found across different countries, and many protests demanded a secular State and pointed at the Catholic church as the reason for women's rights to be held back. There were some exceptions like Colombia, in which Catholics marched among people of all other religions, under the banner of La Marcha de las Putas, and the Marcha das Vadias against the public spending for the visit of Pope Francis in Copacabana, Brazil, featured dissident Catholic groups marching among the protesters.

Some protests evolved into permanent organizations, which kept working throughout the whole year to fight violence against women, and participated or organized events other than the typical Slutwalks to raise awareness on sexual assault.

South Korea The first Slutwalk campaign in Asia was held on July 16, 2011 in Seoul, Korea. It was planned to be held on the 9th of July, but due to another important event called "Hope Bus to Hanjin Heavy Industries", Slutwalk Korea postponed the event until the next week. The date of the event is same in India, but because of the time difference, the first slutwalk in Asia was held in Seoul.

Korean name of the slutwalk is "잡년행진Jap Nyun Haengjin". "Jap" means difference. "Nyun" is abusive language of woman. "Haengjin" means parade or march.

Second slutwalk campaign in South Korea was held on July 28, 2012.

India On July 16, 2011, about 50 people rallied for India's first Slutwalk in Bhopal, called Slutwalk arthaat Besharmi Morcha.(shameful Protest) Rita Banerji, Indian feminist and author reports that SlutWalk was criticised as irrelevant in the face of female feticide, infanticide, dowry murders and honor killings. She argues: "The issue at the crux of the SlutWalk is one and the same as for all the other above mentioned afflictions. It is about the recognition of women as individuals with certain fundamental rights, including that of safety and personal choices, which no one, not even the family, can violate."

On July 31, 2011, Besharmi Morcha took place at New Delhi, sometimes referred to as "The Rape Capital of India" for having the highest numbers of such crime. The estimated number of protesters was around 500. To ensure that no untoward incident took place, police personnel were deployed all around the area. "No one can ever be safe in Delhi. When we leave our homes, even we are not sure whether we will return safely or not," said a police constable on the condition of anonymity. Actress and social activist Nafisa Ali was present. "Basically, we need to work towards the safety of women on streets. It's an issue of mindset. If a boy can go out at two in the morning, so can a girl," she said. Trishala Singh, one of the organisers, said in reference to the number of participants: "I am not at all disappointed with the walk. A good number of people turned up to support the cause and I am happy with it. I know one walk can't change the mindset of people but it will at least be a beginning."

Another Slutwalk was held in Kolkata on May 24, 2012, gathering around 300 people. As described by the Times of India, young girls walked in all kinds of dresses right from sari and salwar kameez to jeans and skirts. "We want to bring fore the point that one can be sexually harassed even while being clothed from head to toe," stated Film Studies student Sulakshana Biswas, one of the organizers. At the end of the rally, artists from Fourth Bell Theatre group performed short plays and recited poetries on sexual abuse written by famous Urdu poet Saadat Hassan Manto and Bengali writer Mahasweta Devi.

A new Slutwalk took place at Kolkata on June 7, 2013. The walk started at Jadavpur University and continued until Triangular Park. Many participants had 'slut' painted on their bodies in bright colors. Sulakshana, Jadavpur University student and organizer over two consecutive years, said that she intended Slutwalks to be an annual affair in the city. Sayan, another of the organizers said, "We are under no political banner. This is a gender inclusion movement, catering to all."

Singapore Previous to the first Slutwalk, a public exchange between the organisers and the local authorities took place, regarding the particularly strict laws on streets demonstrations. Organizers stated there was no need for a permission to hold the protest, while the police sustained the global nature of the movement and expected presence of foreigners made it necessary. Finally, on November 30, a permit was approved for the Slutwalk to take place at a free-speech park called Speakers' Corner. Social critic and gay rights activist Alex Au commented on the issue: "maybe our senior civil servants can't get past the word 'slut' and have begun to hyperventilate". The Slutwalk finally took place on December 3, 2011. None of the mostly female crowd attended in revealing clothing, though some did wear skirts above the knee.Others wore T-shirts protesting against blaming rape victims on the grounds of their outfits or because they had been drunk or flirting. A new Slutwalk was held in Singapore on December 15, 2012.

The Main Message

The main point of the SlutWalk movement is to be able to show that women should be allowed to be sexual beings without the fear of being harassed, judged, or raped . They have the right to express themselves in their own choice of clothing without being called a “slut”, victim-blamed, and slut-shamed. This movement aims to reclaim womens’ body and sexuality as well as challenge the myth that only certain types of people can be sexual.

It is hard to believe that in such advanced societies like North America, there exists a double standard that continue to objectify and sexualize women; the double standard that women shouldn’t expose their body to anyone unless they’re in a monogamous relationship, while men are encouraged to express their heterosexuality .

In the world we live in today, the sexualization and objectification of women and young girls are everywhere. TV shows, magazines, and social media, are increasingly saturated with sex. We live in a hypersexual culture that continues to show women and girls as subordinates to men. While many societies and culture operate differently, women are still struggling to be equal to men and have the right to be themselves without society's judgement. That is why SlutWalk has evolved into a worldwide movement to protest against this “pornification” of mainstream culture