Common sense tells us that women should not be victimized under any circumstance. Having said that, common sense also tells us that women need to be realistic, and if they dress provocatively enough, they’re going to receive unwanted attention from bottom-feeding male “predators” who inhabit every corner of the world. Unfortunately, that’s just the reality.
By the way, rape is not about sex; it’s about violence. TGO
Refer to story below. Source: Associated Press
LONDON (AFP) – Thousands of women took part in a so-called “Slut Walk” in London, insisting that they should be able to wear as much or as little as they like without facing sexual harassment by men.
The colourful march on Saturday saw most people wearing everyday clothing but some wore provocative outfits as they marched on London’s central Trafalgar Square.
Slut Walk was first held in Toronto earlier this year after a police officer caused outrage by stating that “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimised” during a speech to university students.
The protest soon spread to cities around the world where women joined in huge numbers to challenge the mindset that victims of sexual assault should bear a degree of responsibility on the grounds that they were “asking for it”, including Nicaragua where dozens of women took part in a Slut Walking protest on Saturday.
More Slut Walks are planned in Australia, Argentina, the Netherlands and India, where skimpily dressed women will take to the streets of New Delhi on June 25. A government-backed UN survey last year said about 85 percent of Delhi’s women are perpetually scared of being sexually harassed.
The London march kicked off behind a banner reading “Slut Walk London: because we’ve had enough”.
Others carried placards reading “It’s a dress, not a yes”; “Women against rape”; “No means no” and “Hijabs, hoodies, hotpants, our bodies, our choices”.
One sign read “We are all chambermaids” — a reference to the Dominique Strauss-Kahn sex case.
The former International Monetary Fund chief has pleaded not guilty to seven counts of sex crimes, including attempted rape, against a 32-year-old woman cleaning his New York hotel suite.
“It’s not the victim’s fault if they’re raped. Some men think they own the right to women’s bodies,” 25-year-old student Sofia Capel told AFP.
Casually dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, Rachel Sullivan, 35, who works with adults with learning difficulties, said: “I reserve the right to dress as I like.
“It’s unusual for us in England to demonstrate like this, but this is too much, what this policeman said.”
A man and a woman, walking arm in arm, both wore bras and had the word “slut” written across the midriff.
Student Liz Kedde, 27, wore a see-through top over her bra.
“I think it’s important that women are not seen as disposable,” she said, adding: “I never dress like this in the daytime, of course.”
Several men joined the protest, among them Andy Fell, a 27-year-old sound engineer.
“I came to show my solidarity with my girlfriend, and with the issue as well,” he said.
What you fail to understand is that women get victimised wearing skiing pants or baggy jeans as well as short skirts. There is no use in blaming the victim and say they dress “provokingly” when it’s the mind of the abuser that needs to change, not how I chose to dress.
I agree with you completely. However, having said that, the reality is what it is. Men are the dogs that they (we) are. I can guarantee you that you are not going to change 1 million years of evolution just because you believe that men should behave in a certain way. No excuse; but again, it is what it is…
I agree with you completely, Sofia, but it is true that some men have evolved with sick minds. Some men have evolved with a sickness that leads them to commit sexual crimes upon women regardless whether it is the sexual element of the crime, or the violent one, that soothes the sick symptomatic urges they live with. Some men have evolved with a sickness that leads them to commit crimes of a sexual nature upon little innocent looking children. I would be flabbergasted if we start telling our children that they have to stop looking so innocent because it might give one of these men a hard-on and then, when that happens, say, “It is what it is.” But Sofia, we just can’t really see it because, like the slow ticking away of seconds, it takes place oh so slowly, but men’s consciousness has also been evolving and some day in the future, he will no longer behave that way.
GhostRider Wisdom…that’s my story and I’m sting to it.
Sophia, this whole subject has stayed on my mind and got me thinking of my favorite Sting song. According to him, on the surface the song is depicting a vampire but as he wrote it, it became clear to him that he was metaphorically writing about man and his relationship with woman. Here are a few lines.
I’ve no choice but to follow that call, but I know what I do must be wrong…
It was many years ago that I became what I am, I was trapped in this life like an innocent lamb…
The brim of my hat hides the eyes of a beast, I’ve the face of a sinner but the hands of a priest…
She walks everyday through the streets of New Orleans, she’s innocent and young from a family of means…
I have stood many times outside her window at night, to struggle with my instinct in the pale moon light…
How could I be this way when I pray to God above, I must love what I destroy and destroy the thing I love…
Oh you’ll never see my shade or hear the sound of my feet, while there’s a moon over Bourbon Street.
We love our women but go thru our entire lifetimes oppressing them one way or another.
GhostRider Wisdom… that my story and I’m sticking to it.