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Second annual SlutWalk Vancouver march against victim-blaming takes place today
The SlutWalk event in Vancouver last year drew a crowd of over 1,000 people.
Stephen Hui
A second annual march is set to take place in Vancouver this afternoon (June 30) against victim-blaming and sexual violence.
According to organizer Rachel Malek, the goal of SlutWalk Vancouver is to raise awareness of victim-blaming and the idea that “clothing is not consent.” Another message central to this year’s event is “only yes means yes.”
“It’s something that allows an anti-sexual violence, but sex-positive message,” Malek told the Straight by phone. “We wanted it to be a positive message, that consent is consent when it’s offered, and if it’s not, it’s not.”
SlutWalk began in Toronto last year in response to comments made by a police officer at York University.
“He was speaking to college students and describing that if they wanted to avoid getting raped, they should not dress like sluts,” said Malek.
Similar events have now spread to cities across Canada, and overseas to places like New Zealand and the Ukraine.
“It’s an inclusive movement, and it’s one that many people have had their own experiences with, and can just recognize the need to end victim-blaming and end slut-shaming,” she said.
Malek noted organizers conducted an online poll this year to determine whether to change the name SlutWalk, and the majority of people voted to keep it. She added that while organizers welcome the criticisms of the title, it’s one that gets people talking.
“They get hit by it - they get an emotional reaction to it, and it leads them to question their own assumptions, of why do I have a positive or negative association with that, why am I offended by that,” she explained.
“There’s a lot of people who have identified with that word or who feel like they can take away the power of it as an insult by reappropriating.”
Last year’s SlutWalk Vancouver event drew over 1,000 participants. Malek noted that organizers are already planning to recruit volunteers for a third march next year.
Speakers this afternoon will include Susan Tatoosh, the director of the Aboriginal Friendship Centre, Michael Vonn of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, and Susan Davis of the B.C. Coalition of Experiential Communities.
The event will begin at the Vancouver Art Gallery at 2 p.m. this afternoon (June 30). Following the series of speakers, the march will take place between 3 and 4 p.m.
Related article: Photos: SlutWalk Vancouver 2012
(but then again I think the majority of feminists are out of the loop...)
After criticism, Slutwalk Vancouver opts to talk, not walk
http://thetyee.ca/Blogs/TheHook/Rights-Justice/2012/05/15/Slutwalk-Talks...
I don't think feminists are out of the loop, I think Loopy simply has difficulty understanding what he reads.
So yeah, sluts are heroes.
To assess whether the respondent had been a victim of a sexual attack, the Stats Canada General Social Survey asked respondents aged 15 years and older the following questions:
Sexual attack: During the past 12 months, has anyone forced you or attempted to force you into any unwanted sexual activity, by threatening you, holding you down or hurting you in some way?
Unwanted sexual touching: During the past 12 months, has anyone ever touched you against your will in any sexual way? By this I mean anything from unwanted touching or grabbing, to kissing or fondling.
(NOTE: The term "sexual assault" is used to refer to all incidents of unwanted sexual activity, including sexual touching. So according to this survey, if my boyfriend kissed me when I didn’t feel like it, it is considered a sexual assault.)
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It's 20th century thinking, we are in the 21 century and live in a 'free' country. Do whatever you want, dress like a prostitute, who cares. I don't. I don't pre judge ever since my MIT professor looked like a homeless bum yet could calculate derivatives in his head faster than writing them down
Slutwalk got the message across clearly that Only Yes Means Yes and Nobody Is Asking for It Until they actually Ask For It. These stupid comments only show how much more awareness raising work needs to be done.
the whole point is that a woman cannot possibly ever "set herself up to get hurt" by a sexual psychopath. this demonstration is here to illustrate that no matter how a woman is dressed, no matter how she behaves, the blame must fall on the perpetrator of the crime - not on the victim, and certainly not on other feminists, which is the most random thing i've ever heard. how could you possibly blame the very group who advocate for women's rights and protection?
we all know that,the law punishes those who sexually assault,so thats a given which need no reiteration.but recent times have seen a steep rise of women in trashy dressing,as if they came out of a rubbish dump.should they not dress sensibly n respect those around them?the police doesnt stop them from pushing the edges of whats decent n indecent.a slutwalk,by its very name,is indirectly encouraging such disgraceful behaviour.thus i cannot support it.i encourage pushers of uaedresscode to spread their cause far n wide.