SlutWalk

"[8] In the various SlutWalk events around the world, there are usually speaker meetings and workshops, live music, sign-making sessions, leafleting, open microphones, chanting, dances, martial arts, and receptions or after-parties with refreshments.

[12][13] On January 24, 2011, Toronto Police Constable Michael Sanguinetti and another officer from 31 Division spoke on crime prevention, addressing the issue of campus rape at a York University safety forum at Osgoode Hall Law School.

[14][15] During the talk, Sanguinetti interrupted the more senior officer and said: "I've been told I'm not supposed to say this – however, women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized.

"[15] After an article that reported on the situation received international attention,[16] Sanguinetti apologized for the remark saying: I made a comment which was poorly thought out and did not reflect the commitment of the Toronto Police Service to the victims of sexual assaults.

[21] On February 18, 2011[22] Justice Robert Dewar convicted Thompson resident Kenneth Rhodes, who worked for the city council, of sexual assault and sentenced him to two years house arrest.

Dewar said the victim and a friend were dressed in tube tops and high heels when they met Rhodes and another man outside a bar "and made it publicly known that they wanted to party."

The invitation in SlutWalk Toronto website also warned: "Whether a fellow slut or simply an ally, you don't have to wear your sexual proclivities on your sleeve: we just ask that you come.

[29] Dr. Vanessa Oliver, a professor of Sociology and faculty organizer of the SlutWalk, stated, "We have had enough of this slut shaming idea [...] owning our sexual selves should not mean that we are opening ourselves to an expectation of violence," she said.

[30] According to SlutWalk London, the rallies aim to end a culture of fear and victimisation: All over the world, women are constantly made to feel like victims, told they should not look a certain way, should not go out at night, should not go into certain areas, should not get drunk, should not wear high heels or make-up, should not be alone with someone they don't know.

It holds many activities, including: "live DJs, sign making, educational booths, photo fun, free breast cancer exams, and HIV testing".

Key speakers included Transgender Chair for MDPAN Brianna Kingsley and Jennifer Kurland who ran for Michigan Governor 2018 as the Green Party candidate.

An estimated 2500 people rallied in front of the Victorian State Library and marched through Melbourne defending how women, men, and children should dress without fear of being sexually assaulted.

"[46] The event included five empowering speeches from five speakers: Dr Leslie Cannold, Monica Dux, Ursula Benstead, Elena Jeffreys and Cody Smith.

When asked about the 'SlutWalk', planned for Cardiff in a few weeks time, it led to "an uncomfortable silence, uneasy smiles and raised eyebrows from the two women teachers leading the group."

[80][85][86][87] All protests shared the rejection of Sanguinetti's sayings, and some of them were also directed to local state authorities[80][88] and Catholic church representatives[89] whose public comments reinforced gender stereotypes and violence against women.

[98][99] Rita Banerji, Indian feminist and author reports that SlutWalk was criticised as irrelevant in the face of female feticide, infanticide, dowry murders and honor killings.

At the end of the rally, artists from Fourth Bell Theatre group performed short plays and recited poetries on sexual abuse written by famous Urdu poet Saadat Hassan Manto and Bengali writer Mahasweta Devi.

Social critic and gay rights activist Alex Au commented on the issue: "maybe our senior civil servants can't get past the word 'slut' and have begun to hyperventilate".

None of the mostly female crowd attended in revealing clothing, though some did wear skirts above the knee.Others wore T-shirts protesting against blaming rape victims on the grounds of their outfits or because they had been drunk or flirting.

That year's march also involved a fierce dispute with the "Socialist Struggle" movement (Ma'avak Socilisti - מאבק סוציאליסטי) which organised its own SlutWalk but objected to the term sharmuta on the grounds that it was an originally Arabic word, and thus using it could be considered offensive to women from a minority group.

Moreover, though originally an Arabic word, the term as presently used by Hebrew speakers in Israel carries a crude disparaging sexist implication of "blaming the victim" but no specific ethnic connotation.

Taking up themes from the Me Too movement, signs were carried mentioning by name and photo various Israeli men in prominent public positions - including politicians, senior military and police officers, business people, artists and actors as well as rabbis - who were implicated in rape or sexual harassment cases.

Australian conservative commentator Andrew Bolt observed that guidance on how to dress in any given context is simply risk management, and such advice need not exclude opposition to victim-blaming.

"[109] Lindsay Herriot, a women's studies scholar, disagreed with these arguments, stating that risk management can be seen as a direct case of victim-blaming and creates a problematic rhetoric in tackling the issue of sexual violence.

As an example, she cited a 2010 Toronto news story covering a series of recent attempted and completed sexual assault cases against teenage girls walking home from school.

In the news story, Pearl Rimer, a safety advocate with Boost Child Abuse Prevention, stated: "[children and young adults] should be aware of their surroundings while in public by limiting the use of cell phones and music players.

It has been accused of "[fixating] solely around liberal questions of individual choice – the palatable 'I can wear what I want' feminism that is intentionally devoid of an analysis of power dynamics.

Every tactic to gain civil and human rights must not only consult and consider women of color, but it must equally center all our experiences and our communities in the construction, launching, delivery and sustainment of that movement.

"[115] Andrea Plaid, who writes for race blog 'Racialicious', too is skeptical, describing the SlutWalk as "...another word-reclamation project that seemed to recenter white cisgender women's sexual agency and bodies.

[119] Melinda Tankard Reist, notable for her stance against sexualisation of children in modern pop culture and anti-choice positions, said: "I believe the name will marginalise women and girls who want to be active in violence prevention campaigns but who don't feel comfortable with personally owning the word slut.