After the Slutwalk march in London on Saturday 11th June, I felt the need to reflect on what women and men told me about their reason to be there. I read about rape, attend talks… until I understood how all this connected to feminist politics.
The trigger
It began on 24th January 2011, when a policeman walked into Osgoode Hall Law school in Toronto, to tell women how to avoid sexual violence “I’m not supposed to say this, “Sanguinity said. “However, women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimised.”
This triggered a wave of protests that started on 3rd April in Toronto, Canada, and spread to major cities in the world in US, Portugal, Brazil, Australia, Amsterdam, Sweden, Denmark, New Zealand, Argentina, Ireland, South Africa, Mexico…..
SlutWalk was a reaction to not one officer's remark, but to incessant sexism that discriminates women and justifies rape, violence and oppression.
D-Day – Saturday 11th June, 2011
On Saturday 11th June, 5,000 men and women marched under the “No means No, Yes means Yes” slogan toward Trafalgar where the talks took place. Although each women and men had their own particular reason to be there, each one gave an insight on the overall matter.
Men’s inability to control their impulse – when the roles are reversed
The first belief Slutwalk aimed to challenge was that women were responsible for their own rape because of what they wear. The exposure of women’s flesh through clothing was justifying rape. I really find society complaisant and indulgent toward men’s inability to control their urges and blame women for it. In this scenario men’s reverse the roles and become victim of women who must have done something wrong. “She was asking for it” they sometimes say.
Policemen share the same cliches as the rest of the male culture.
Moreover, this sexist remark from a Police officer showed how the male police mindset is often similar to the stereotypes views of rape that are shared by the rest of the male culture. Policemen are often reluctant to face up and believe a rape complainant which might explain why only “6% of complaints result in prosecutions” and “40% of adults who are raped tell no one about it”.
All forms of violence towards women are against the law; therefore it is the responsibility of the police to hold perpetrators to account. If they choose to ignore it they became complicit with the perpetrator in his abusive behavior which will repeat itself. One female protester said that police’s failures to hold perpetrators of rape into account are responsible of manslaughter and should be prosecuted.
The facts about rape:
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- 80% of the women who are raped are victimized by someone they know.
My views on what’s next
I think we should not stop here and start building a strong movement. The Uncut decentralized protest group is a great inspiration for direct action. Why not organize regular and spontaneous protests in front of police stations across the country just to remind police officers that our fight is not over. This culture of silence and abuse of power needs to end.
Reference:
Slut Means Speak Up, a campaign launched at Slutwalk London to tell the world that rape is never, ever the fault of the victim.Official site: http://slutmeansspeakup.org.uk/about
