Thousands of women are set to take to the streets in cities across the UK after the remarks of a Canadian police officer, who advised women "to avoid dressing as sluts" if they did not want to be harassed, sparked a worldwide protest movement.
Thousands of women are expected to descend on Trafalgar Square in central London for a SlutWalk on 4 June, with other events planned for Cardiff and Edinburgh, and possible meetings in other cities including Brighton and Birmingham.
The movement, organised largely through Facebook and Twitter, was sparked by a police officer in Toronto, who paid a visit three months ago to Osgoode Hall Law School to advise students on how to stay safe. He told the 10 students present: "I've been told I'm not supposed to say this – however, women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimised."
The comments were posted online and have provoked outrage, leading to events in more than 20 US states, plus Argentina, Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden and the UK.
Organisers say they are protesting against a culture which puts the blame for rape and sexual assault on to the victim, makes women less likely to report rape and contributes to low conviction rates for those accused of rape and sexual assault.
The Edinburgh SlutWalk – which archly campaigns for "the radical notion that nobody deserves to be raped" – will meet this Saturday at the National Gallery. Organisers have urged protesters to "bring placards and an attitude!".
The Cardiff SlutWalk event page on Facebook has attracted more than 260 supporters in a few days, who will – pending police approval – also march on 4 June from outside Cardiff University Students' Union, through the city to St Mary's Street.
Almost 4,000 people say they plan to attend the London event, which has its own website which encourages protesters to explain why they will be marching. "Rape is never OK," said organiser Anatasia Richardson, a 17-year-old student. "This is an issue that has resonated around the world with people who reject the idea of blaming a victim of sexual assault rather than the criminal."
Beccy Pert, 20, one of the organisers of the Cardiff march, said the movement had struck a chord around the world. "People are fed up with the injustice of innocent people being blamed for rape and sexual assault. Comments like these only serve to shame victims into silence when they should feel no shame."
Holly Dustin, director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, said the police officer's comments were "deeply disturbing" but rife in society. "Polls show that this kind of victim-blaming attitude is prevalent throughout UK society, too. The appallingly low conviction rate of less than 7% of reported rapes indicates it is likely to pervade our criminal justice system as well," she said.
A 2009 Home Office report into violence against women in the UK found that 36% of people believed a woman should be held wholly or partly responsible for being sexually assaulted or raped if she was drunk, and 26% if she was in public wearing sexy or revealing clothes.
The British Crime Survey showed a rise in the number of sexual offences recorded by police from 53,091 in 2009 to 54,602, up 3%, in 2010 with a 6% increase in the number of most serious sexual crimes – up to 44,693 from 42,187 in 2009.
Dianne Whitfield, manager of the Coventry Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre, welcomed the widespread campaign. "This relights my faith," she said. "Women have rights and they will stand up, speak up and fight for those rights."
• The following correction was printed in the Guardian's Corrections and clarifications column, Wednesday 11 May 2011. A slip of the tongue by an organiser of a walk in London to protest at remarks by a Canadian police officer – that women who want to stay safe on the streets "should avoid dressing like sluts" – led to the organiser being quoted in early editions as saying "Comments like these only serve to shame victims into violence"; that should have been "silence". The article also incorrectly suggested that she was the sole organiser.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/09/slutwalking-phenomenon-comes-to-uk/print