Three girls at London's SlutWalk. Image by Rob Pinney, copyright Demotix (11/06/11).
Table of Contents
In April 2011, a new protest movement defending women's rights was born: SlutWalks. The marchers confront the notion that women attract rapists by dressing provocatively, like “sluts“. The first march took place after a representative of the police in Toronto, Canada called for women to dress conservatively to stay safe. As a response, SlutWalk Toronto was initiated with this statement: “We are tired of being oppressed by slut-shaming; of being judged by our sexuality and feeling unsafe as a result.” The event has been replicated in at least 40 different countries worldwide.
Read below how SlutWalks have earned both support and criticism in 2011/12.
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What we do: Global Voices bloggers from around the world report on how citizens use the Internet and social media to make their voices heard, often translating from different languages.
Global Voices Posts – SlutWalks 2011/12
North America
04 Dec 2011 – Canada: The Start of the SlutWalk Movement
Central America
19 Aug 2011 – Costa Rica: Slut Walk Reactions, Religion and Women's Rights
17 Aug 2011 – Costa Rica's ‘Slut Walk’
South America
29 May 2012 – Brazil: SlutWalks Spread Across the Country
30 Jun 2011 – Brazil: 40 Cities Make the Freedom March
19 Jun 2011 – Brazil: “SlutWalk” Throughout the Country in Images
Asia
29 May 2012 – India: Kolkata Joins the SlutWalk Movement
06 Dec 2011 – Reactions to Slutwalk Singapore
13 Aug 2011 – India: Was Delhi's SlutWalk More of a Media Hype?
23 Jun 2011 – Slut Walk is Besharmi Morcha in India
North Africa
07 Sep 2011 – Morocco: SlutWalk Gets a Toehold
Australasia
07 Jun 2011 – Australia’s Swear-In: Fine is a Four-Letter Word
30 May 2011 – Australia: SlutWalks Spread the Word
Key SlutWalk groups on Twitter:
- @SLUTWALKBERLIN – SlutWalk Berlin, Germany
- @slutwalkchicago – SlutWalk Chicago, USA
- @SlutWalkHK – SlutWalk Hong Kong
- @SlutwalkLondon – SlutWalk London, UK
- @SlutWalkNYC – SlutWalk New York, USA
- @SlutWalkSG – SlutWalk Singapore
- @SlutWalkTO – SlutWalk Toronto, Canada
Key hashtags: #slutwalk | #16DaystoSayNO and #16days [Annual initiative – see website below]
Resources
Websites
- Amnesty campaign ‘Women's human rights‘
- Global Virtual Knowledge Centre to End Violence against Women and Girls – Resource portal from UN Women
- List of Slutwalks around the world from SlutWalk Portland (USA)
- Slut Walk Delhi arthaat Besharmi Morcha 2011 – SlutWalk Delhi website
- SlutWalk Toronto's Facebook page and website
- UNWomen.org – United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women
- UNWomen.org Resources List
- UNiTE to End Violence against Women – Campaign aims to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls in all parts of the world
- World Health Organization Factsheet ‘Violence against women‘ - Updated September 2011
- 16 Days of Action For The Elimination of Violence Against Women – Annual initiative
Photos
Photos from SlutWalks around the world on Demotix:
