Stop blaming the victim: women march to condemn slut-shaming

By JAMAL BEN HADDOU

Hundreds of people gathered at the Melbourne State Library today as part of the annual SlutWalk march to condemn sexism and victim-blaming.

Many protesters dressed in bras and high heels to send a message that nobody should be humiliated or attacked for how they dress or behave.

SlutWalk Melbourne defines victim blaming as the idea that victims of assault or rape “made themselves a target through the way they dressed or acted”.

Host of SlutWalk Melbourne Amy Broomhall opened the event by acknowledging the rape and sexual assault survivors who attended.

“It took a lot of bravery for everyone to come out here today but there are so many reasons why it’s hard for some to be here,” she said.

“SlutWalk is not affiliated with any political parties. This is a movement that unapologetically puts survivors first,” she said.

Event organiser Jessamy Gleeson is completing a PhD on feminism and social media.

Ms Gleeson said she hoped SlutWalk would create better understanding and attitudes around sexual violence.

“The idea is that as many people as possible go away and have conversations about victim-blaming and slut-shaming and why it’s not OK,” she said.

SlutWalk was sparked in Canada six years ago after a representative of the Toronto Police said “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimised”.

Ms Gleeson said the rally created a safe space where women and sexual assault survivors could express themselves freely and without any hate speech.

“[Slut-shaming] has such a huge silencing effect on people and it’s horrifying to see and it takes so much time to shake those attitudes off,” she said.

“As much we try to change attitudes, SlutWalk is also equally about creating a safe space for people to talk and meet safely without being judged and without fear of being blamed,” she said.

SEED Workshops CEO Catherine Manning, whose organisation runs school workshops to foster self-esteem and respectful relationships, said today that victim-blaming attitudes were entrenched in many institutions across Australia. 

On Facebook, Ms Manning denounced slut-shaming in schools after staff at Kambrya College told students to “protect their integrity” after explicit photos of female students circulated online.

“I think that we really have to put the blame solely where it lies and stop using girls and women and their sexuality as a scapegoat for the poor behaviour of some men,” she said in the Facebook post.

“There should be a very strong message form the education department, court system and police that it is unacceptable to blame victims,” she added.

Ms Manning said men had a very important role to play in condemning sexist behaviour.

“I think boys and men should be pretty angry about those slut-shaming messages too,” she said.

“I know through working with boys, and from feedback that we get back from the boys, is that they’re really grateful to be hearing a more realistic way forward. They realise their attitudes towards women and girls are harmful and that they can do better and want to do better,” she said.