'Slut Walk' aims to empower women through a bold message
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SEATTLE - Local women strutted in a group procession Sunday with the provocative name of "Slut Walk" - to make a bold statement.
They displayed shocking messages and wore shocking outfits as they met on Capitol Hill and marched downtown in hopes of empowering women.
And they embraced a four-letter word "to fight the sexist social acceptance of rape in our culture, and reclaim the word slut," organizers said.
Similar marches have been held in other cities in the protest movement, sparked by a Toronto police officer's remark that women could avoid being raped by not dressing like "sluts."
As Slut Walk organizer Jessi Murray put it: "There's just too much of a culture of blaming the victim of a crime."
Murray says she felt ashamed after she was raped five years ago.
"When it actually happened to me, I had never yet been kissed," she says.
Now she's hoping to help other women feel her strength.
"I always thought it was my fault, too, and now I know it wasn't," she says.
Two other friends on the walk proudly wore what they'd normally wear on a night out.
"Just because a woman feels comfortable in her skin and likes to show off her body doesn't mean that men have the right to make inappropriate comments or make sexual advances without consent or permission," says Karena Smith.
The walkers demanded attention as they proceeded from Capitol Hill through downtown.
"It doesn't matter what you wear, it doesn't matter how present yourself. You should be safe," said one walker, "Sister Dominatrix."
Feeling safe and accepted is what the Decaros want their children to learn, after they drove to the march from Lake Stevens.
"Just because they dress a certain way, you shouldn't be able to treat them a certain way," says Cathy Decaro.
It was a message carried on by a woman who said no woman ever asks to be attacked.
"You want to know why I was raped? I was raped because a rapist raped me. That's it."
Some bystanders said they thought the whole thing looked a bit silly. But there were others who said they thought it was very eye-opening and the message was very, very clear.
They displayed shocking messages and wore shocking outfits as they met on Capitol Hill and marched downtown in hopes of empowering women.
And they embraced a four-letter word "to fight the sexist social acceptance of rape in our culture, and reclaim the word slut," organizers said.
Similar marches have been held in other cities in the protest movement, sparked by a Toronto police officer's remark that women could avoid being raped by not dressing like "sluts."
As Slut Walk organizer Jessi Murray put it: "There's just too much of a culture of blaming the victim of a crime."
Murray says she felt ashamed after she was raped five years ago.
"When it actually happened to me, I had never yet been kissed," she says.
Now she's hoping to help other women feel her strength.
"I always thought it was my fault, too, and now I know it wasn't," she says.
Two other friends on the walk proudly wore what they'd normally wear on a night out.
"Just because a woman feels comfortable in her skin and likes to show off her body doesn't mean that men have the right to make inappropriate comments or make sexual advances without consent or permission," says Karena Smith.
The walkers demanded attention as they proceeded from Capitol Hill through downtown.
"It doesn't matter what you wear, it doesn't matter how present yourself. You should be safe," said one walker, "Sister Dominatrix."
Feeling safe and accepted is what the Decaros want their children to learn, after they drove to the march from Lake Stevens.
"Just because they dress a certain way, you shouldn't be able to treat them a certain way," says Cathy Decaro.
It was a message carried on by a woman who said no woman ever asks to be attacked.
"You want to know why I was raped? I was raped because a rapist raped me. That's it."
Some bystanders said they thought the whole thing looked a bit silly. But there were others who said they thought it was very eye-opening and the message was very, very clear.
