‘Slut walks’ protest policeman’s remarks about women’s responsibility for sexual assault

It started with a thoughtless policeman trotting out a tired, offensive trope about preventing sexual assault at a campus safety session: that women shouldn't "dress like sluts." And the outrage over that remark has since blossomed into a global protest movement aimed at changing such victim-blaming attitudes and drawing attention to violence against women. Welcome to the Slut Walks.

The first Slut Walk was held in Toronto on April 3, 2011, after local police official Michael Sanguinetti addressed a college crowd assembled to discuss public safety issues. "One of the safety tips was for women not to dress like 'sluts.' He said something like, 'I've been told I shouldn't say this,' and then he uttered the words," said Ronda Bessner, an assistant dean at Osgoode Hall Law School, where the session was held. "I was shocked and appalled." Two women--Heather Jarvis and Sonya JF Barnett--promptly organized and named the walk, reclaiming a term used to demonize women for their sexuality. Organizers estimate that at least 3,000 people participated in the Toronto event.

The movement has since spread around the world—a Boston march held the first weekend in May drew 2,000 attendees, a forthcoming London walk in June already has more than 5,000 Facebook followers, and the Chicago Slut Walk scheduled for June 4 is still accepting entries in its poster contest. According to Slut Walk Toronto's website, the events have occurred or are being organized in 65 cities.

Samuel Schimmel, a student at Western Washington University, is helping to organize Slut Walk Seattle. The group has currently logged just under 3,000 RSVPs, and has won the endorsement of a local beauty pageant winner Daniela Ferrell-- aka Miss Auburn. "Rape is rape. As long as the acceptance [of victim blaming] goes on, we're going to see tangible effects," Schimmel told The Lookout.

The protest organizers' choice of an intentionally loaded title for the event hasn't proved a barrier in getting women (and men) of all ages to take part. "When I first heard the name, I was kind of put off. But then it started to grow on me," wrote a mother who plans to participate in Slut Walk Vancouver on May 15. "The message is great, 'there's no such thing as dressing for assault.' "

"As the father of 2 daughters (age 24 and 5, plus a son of 12 years) I will spend a part of father's day affirming that labeling a woman a 'slut' does not permit violence to be visited upon said slut." wrote Angel Cruz on the Seattle event's Facebook page. "See you there."

Still, there has been pushback. Anti-pornography activist Gail Dines and former sex crimes prosecutor Wendy Murphy took to the pages of the Guardian to question whether reclaiming the term "slut" was worthwhile. "The word is so saturated with the ideology that female sexual energy deserves punishment that trying to change its meaning is a waste of precious feminist resources," they wrote. "Advocates would be better off exposing the myriad ways in which the law and the culture enable myths about all types of women--sexually active or 'chaste' alike."

Ultimately though, organizers point to changing language as an important first step toward ending a culture that punishes women for crimes against them.

Feminist and author Jaclyn Freidman--who has edited the recently published Yes Means Yes!: Visions of Female Sexual Power and A World Without Rape--made this point when she addressed the crowd at the Boston walk: "the consequence of being a slut is violence [...] it gives permission for people to rape us, and the person who wields it doesn't have to lift a finger. It sends a signal: this one is fair game. Have at her. No one will blame you."

Friedman is heartened by the response to the movement. "The mood at the march was inspiring," she told The Lookout. "It's grounded in positivity. In taking up our own sexualities and space in the world. It's not just against sexual violence, but also about claiming pleasure on our own terms."

(Image via Locks on Doors)