SlutWalk London
This coming weekend in London I, along with other activists, will be attending the Slut Walk. In the space of just a few months 'walks' have sprung up all around the world as a reaction to one Toronto policeman's comment: "women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimised." His comment caused outrage and has, potentially, fuelled a new wave of modern feminists. His opinion, which is shared by a lot of others, is that women are to blame for being attacked. Is he telling women to wear baggy clothes and cover up in order to avoid being raped? Rather than telling men that they shouldn't rape in the first place! Victim blaming has become increasingly common in our culture now, it's the same as saying if we get mugged while we are drunk it is our fault for getting inebriated. Shockingly, Justice Secretary Ken Clarke and Conservative MEP Roger Helmer are among those who put some of the blame on the victims. Ken Clarke suggested that some rapes were more serious than others and Roger Helmer attempted to defend the Justice Secretary's comments by agreeing that "women who have been ‘date raped’ should take some of the blame."(1) These views present a very ignorant view of society, suggesting that rather than protecting women from men, women should avoid potentially threatening situations in the first place. One way to avoid getting raped: never leave the house (problem solved!)The Slut Walks intend to make a statement, if I wear a short skirt it doesn't mean I am asking for sex, in the same way, if a gay man is dressed 'camply' it doesn't mean he is asking to get beaten up! Why should we change the way we look to avoid getting attacked? Why aren't we looking to the culprits, the rapists or attackers who don't get sentenced, and stopping what drives men to attack others? In the Tuesday article in the G2 section of the Guardian (2), the journalist asked one activist at the Newcastle Slut Walk what the walk meant to her. She said she was raped when she was 18 and the police told her to "put it down to experience." This is unacceptable in modern society, no one should get away for a serious crime they have committed and no victim should be blamed for 'letting it happen.' "At 6.5%, the UK now has the worst conviction rape in Europe besides Ireland, despite the fact that there is supporting evidence in 86.7% of charged cases of rape."(3) The same woman went on to say: "most women who are raped are wearing jeans when it happens. The stranger pouncing on a drunk woman in a thong is a lie, a symptom of our collective denial." The Slut Walks intend to highlight this issue and, hopefully, with all the publicity they are receiving someone will take note. The next step is to change the mentality of attackers in the first place.(1) Hannah Boast: Conservative UK MEP jumps into Ken Clarke's victim-blaming hole, keeps digging: http://www.womensviewsonnews.org/wvon/2011/05/conservative-mep-jumps-in-ken-clarkes-victim-blaming-hole-keeps-digging/(2) Tanya Gold: Marching with the SlutWalkers in The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/07/marching-with-the-slutwalkers?INTCMP=SRCH(3) http://slutmeansstandup.org.uk/post/5997984328/aimee-why-i-am-marching