Hundreds say no to rape, misogyny during annual Jerusalem ‘SlutWalk’
Hundreds of feminist activists flocked to the capital on Friday to participate in the annual ‘SlutWalk,’ held for the sixth consecutive year in protest against what they see as a culture of rape and misogyny.
The participants decried a common notion that women are at fault for the sexual assault or harassment they suffer because of their “provocative” behavior and/or the sexually appealing attire they choose to wear.
Hundreds gathered at Davidka Square, not far from the Mahaneh Yehuda market, and from there they marched to Heleni Hamalka Street, where a rally was held.
As is the common in so-called slutwalks across the world, most protesters were clad in revealing outfits, to challenge the claim that women who wear such clothes are calling for men to harass them.
The activists carried posters with strongly worded slogans against rape and sexual assault. The majority of the messages were written in bold letters both in English and Hebrew, including: “No means no,” “Don’t tell us how to dress, tell men not to rape,” and, “My body is solely mine.”
The protesters explained that their intention was to call on public organizations and staterun institutions to take responsibility for the high sexual assault rate in Israel and to act immediately to allocate resources to support women who have suffered, to strengthen legislation and to increase punishment for offenders.
They added that they wished to protest against the forgiving stance the justice system and the police have toward such offenders, which in their opinion leaves women in the country vulnerable.
The organizers of the rally told Hebrew media that “women are never guilty for the sexual assault they go through, and blaming them is but a social excuse that is meant to pass the responsibility on to them.”
Some of the participants said that the SlutWalk in Jerusalem was especially significant due to the large number of sexual assaults and rape cases in the capital.
They said that despite the fact that a similar protest was held several weeks ago in Tel Aviv, it was important to reinforce the message that rape culture will not be tolerated in all of Israel and not just in Tel Aviv, which many consider to be a secular hub of liberalism and acceptance.
The worldwide SlutWalk movement began in 2011 after a Toronto policeman suggested that women could avoid sexual assault by not dressing like a “slut.”