🤬🤬🤬🤬 Walk Toronto

[LyndyLoo]

I am appalled even having to read this in 2011..Just when I thought we have, as a society of human beings have moved beyond such!! We have a long history of predatory behaviors by serial killers..Green River serial Killer targeted "Prostitutes" and Ted Bundy targeted young good looking females who had a heart and offered to help him with his false injuries...Predators target females/males alike..depends on their "Quirk"...could be dress style, could be hair color, could be hair length, geesh,> IT could be her lipstick color ..Women or men..do NOT go out and attempt to socialize in order to be used, abused and brutality murdered..:banghead:

Its time to stop blaming the victim....Sorry..I find this totally off the chart in this day and age..and I truly thought we had gone past the "She/He" deserved it cause of their behaviors....Its high time the "Predator" is held totally responsible!! NOT the "Prey"..whomever it ends up to be :innocent:

 

[Kat]

IMHO it doesn't matter how you are dressed when you are a target and victim of rape.

As it has been said many times on this website: Rape is about power and control and rage. No sex.

3 yr old little girls and little boys don't put themselves in the position to be raped. (that age is just a random one I selected)

Preteen females and males, teen girls and boys don't put themselves in the position to be raped.

Women of young and middle age don't put themselves in the position to be raped.

Elderly women well into their 70's and 80's don't either.

We have to be very careful not to assign blame onto the victim. Not the victim that for some reason or another finds themselves in a situation that makes them more accessible. Such as walking after dark, walking in an alley...etc.

Because they really are no different from that scared little girl or boy that waits in bed each night to hear the footsteps coming down the hall towards her and dreading that she again will be raped.

They are no different from the victim that does take every precaution to make sure that they have done everything to ensure their own safety and are blindsided by someone as they are leaving work. Accessing their car in a garage. Having drinks with friends and walking back to their car. Any scenario that I can think of---it's not the victims fault they were going about living their life and it was someone else who spotted them and decided there is my victim.

The elderly woman who never sets foot outside of her home after dark who is lying in bed when a man enters and rapes her in her own home.

We have to be very careful not to assign any responsibility for a crime on the victim of the crime.

Do people ask to be shot dead? Do people ask to be chopped up and dropped down in the trunk of a dead tree? (real case) Rape is a violent crime. It's up close and it's one on one.

If these people think that they can bring attention to an issue-fine by me. I have no qualms with that or with how they have chosen to entitle their movement.

Bottom line is that the thought that a victim is somehow responsible for his/her own rape is pervasive to this day and it can be insidious and covert. By simply asking ourselves---well why was she there in the first place or she shouldn't have been wearing such and such. We have already assigned blame.

all JMHO

 

[believe09]

It's funny, I had a friend who was assaulted by a guy wielding an ice pick. She was walking home from work at 8PM on a well lit street. She spotted the guy and chose NOT to take the short cut she usually took. She heard the sound of running feet behind her, he punched her then kicked her in the head and dragged her into the alley. He had an ice pick.

Wanna know what she was wearing? Full length down parka and ski boots because there was 2 ft of snow on the ground.

Witnesses later said they saw the attack but thought it was a boyfriend/girlfriend situation, so they walked away. Her life was saved by two guys who came out of an apartment carrying a sofa.

She told me more people than she could count tried to quarterback what she had done wrong that brought this on.

Isnt that something?

She was part of a serial attack-he got 5 women and killed the last two. A predator. And yet, people assigned her blame.

 

[wfgodot]

Guardian's very good take on matters:

SlutWalking gets rolling after cop's loose talk about provocative clothing

---
The participants, both female and male, carried placards saying "Met a today? Don't assault her," " pay taxes" and "We're here, we're , get used to it."
---

That last phrase harkens back to Queer Nation's appropriation of another word with negative connotations and their 1980s chant "We're here, we're queer, get used to it."

More at Guardian link above.

 

[Donjeta]

I think it could be a defence mechanism. The thought of being raped is so disturbing that people want to think that they're safe, personally. If they can somehow attribute other people getting victimized to something stupid, dangerous or wrong that the victim did they can feel safer because they know better than to do X. But if it's just a random act of violence the victim could be anybody, it could be me.

 

[LyndyLoo]

IMHO it doesn't matter how you are dressed when you are a target and victim of rape.

As it has been said many times on this website: Rape is about power and control and rage. No sex.

3 yr old little girls and little boys don't put themselves in the position to be raped. (that age is just a random one I selected)

Preteen females and males, teen girls and boys don't put themselves in the position to be raped.

Women of young and middle age don't put themselves in the position to be raped.

Elderly women well into their 70's and 80's don't either.

We have to be very careful not to assign blame onto the victim. Not the victim that for some reason or another finds themselves in a situation that makes them more accessible. Such as walking after dark, walking in an alley...etc.

Because they really are no different from that scared little girl or boy that waits in bed each night to hear the footsteps coming down the hall towards her and dreading that she again will be raped.

They are no different from the victim that does take every precaution to make sure that they have done everything to ensure their own safety and are blindsided by someone as they are leaving work. Accessing their car in a garage. Having drinks with friends and walking back to their car. Any scenario that I can think of---it's not the victims fault they were going about living their life and it was someone else who spotted them and decided there is my victim.

The elderly woman who never sets foot outside of her home after dark who is lying in bed when a man enters and rapes her in her own home.

We have to be very careful not to assign any responsibility for a crime on the victim of the crime.

Do people ask to be shot dead? Do people ask to be chopped up and dropped down in the trunk of a dead tree? (real case) Rape is a violent crime. It's up close and it's one on one.

If these people think that they can bring attention to an issue-fine by me. I have no qualms with that or with how they have chosen to entitle their movement.

Bottom line is that the thought that a victim is somehow responsible for his/her own rape is pervasive to this day and it can be insidious and covert. By simply asking ourselves---well why was she there in the first place or she shouldn't have been wearing such and such. We have already assigned blame.

all JMHO

It's funny, I had a friend who was assaulted by a guy wielding an ice pick. She was walking home from work at 8PM on a well lit street. She spotted the guy and chose NOT to take the short cut she usually took. She heard the sound of running feet behind her, he punched her then kicked her in the head and dragged her into the alley. He had an ice pick.

Wanna know what she was wearing? Full length down parka and ski boots because there was 2 ft of snow on the ground.

Witnesses later said they saw the attack but thought it was a boyfriend/girlfriend situation, so they walked away. Her life was saved by two guys who came out of an apartment carrying a sofa.

She told me more people than she could count tried to quarterback what she had done wrong that brought this on.

Isnt that something?

She was part of a serial attack-he got 5 women and killed the last two. A predator. And yet, people assigned her blame.

ALL I Can say..NO Victim should EVER be blamed..no matter what circumstances,,Dont even care that they associated with "Bad Sorts"..or associated with anyone....Given what I just said, "RAPE Victims" have been abled to get aot of support in the past decade or more...Thier reputation or past behaviors mean NOTHING when it comes to "MURDER"..Absolutely No one deserves to be murdered....I would even go as far as to say.."Gang" activities is NO excuse either.."Hits" or "Targeted Murders" out of vengence or revenge..is NO EXCUSE....Enough of Violence:banghead:

Just too MANY Victims are killed, abused and assaulted..and for some reason defense against accusations is "THEY DESERVED IT"....I surely hope society has moved well beyoind that threshold!!!:seeya:

 

[Charlie09]

There is something we can modify - attitudes - when an LE officer makes a statement which in effect blames the victim of a violent crime. As for "much to be valued about being a woman," you treat them as second class citizens hoping for pats on the head and encouragement that, if they can't be men, well, they can still make themselves useful by dressing demurely so as not to become the target of male violence.

Calling it a walk brings attention - it doesn't change the police officer's words.

 

[wfgodot]

Calling it a walk brings attention - it doesn't change the police officer's words.

Quite true. Nor did I say it did. Those words, they'll live in infamy, as it were.

 

[Quiche]

Calling it a walk brings attention - it doesn't change the police officer's words.

It only serves the next individual who has the slur on the tongue to pause and think... eventually, it will stop. It does work. mo

 

[believe09]

I agree-it is a defense mechanism. It is a way of non victims reasserting control in a situation where the victim lost control. A truly reandom act right? My friend spent YEARS wondering what she did or gave off that made her victim worthy. She had lived all over the place and never ever considered herself at risk. At the end of the day, she fit a profile. That was it. The dude had been cashing a check from the checkbook he stole from his previous victim, spotted her and knew enough about apathy that he figured he would get away with it.

I will save the story of what happened to the perp for another day since it is o/t.

 

[Charlie09]

It only serves the next individual who has the slur on the tongue to pause and think... eventually, it will stop. It does work. mo

Well we can agree to disagree.

I'm much more concerned with strong consequences for those who commit rape than those who don't think before they speak.

 

[Quiche]

Well we can agree to disagree.

I'm much more concerned with strong consequences for those who commit rape than those who don't think before they speak.

Well, of course we're concerned about the rapists-- but further victimization by crass methods of shaming is also a concern, and because I believe most of that is uninformed responses, there is definitely something to be done. Education is simple and effective. mo

 

[not_my_kids]

I'm all for it, the title and the the premise.

By the way I dress, on occasion, I would be considered a . And there is no shame in that for me. It's my body, and as long as I don't cross the line into out and out trashiness, I'll show it off if I want to. A right that any woman should have, if they choose to exercise it. A woman dressed in a miniskirt and heels has as a good a chance of being forcibly raped as a woman in jeans and a t-shirt. Especially when you consider that most women are not raped by strangers and they are not raped in back alleys, they are raped in their own homes, by people that they at least know, if not fully trust. So...in order to protect myself, I would have to never wear something seen as slutty, or anything that could be seen as provocative, even within the confines of my own home, and not knowing which potential rapists may have a fetish for women in jeans and work boots, or tee shirts, or sweatshirts, or sweatpants that cling just a hair too much or...(I'll just leave it there, because for every item there is a fetish and some person that finds it sexually attractive.)

Sexual assault is about power. Name calling (, wh*re, b*tch, c*nt, insert other derogatory female name you can think of), is also about power: ie. putting the woman in her "place". If we change that "place" and own those names, and make them less shameful, they will hold less power over us. So, yeah, I'm a (at least I should have the right to dress like one) and I'll walk under that title. Hell yes!

 

[Quiche]

Check this story out-- I doubt she was sluttin'. mo

http://www.news10.net/news/article/135471/2/Sacramento-patient-raped-caregiver-police-say

 

[reportertype]

Well, of course we're concerned about the rapists-- but further victimization by crass methods of shaming is also a concern, and because I believe most of that is uninformed responses, there is definitely something to be done. Education is simple and effective. mo

Exactly. To say there is no point in trying to prevent victim shaming is wrong. More women might report attacks, thus preventing future attacks.

 

[Charlie09]

Well, of course we're concerned about the rapists-- but further victimization by crass methods of shaming is also a concern, and because I believe most of that is uninformed responses, there is definitely something to be done. Education is simple and effective. mo

I just feel like the greater point is being missed.
Women should feel safe to be wherever whenever - that's one issue.

The next issue is women should feel proud of their bodies but should value in themselves to not cheapen themselves. I don't see the line between and out and out trashiness, and I'm not sure what the point is in being proud to be a . I think being proud to be a woman is something to be valued. Yes, a terribly old fashioned idea but one that I'm not ashamed of holding or passing on.

 

[not_my_kids]

I just feel like the greater point is being missed.
Women should feel safe to be wherever whenever - that's one issue.

The next issue is women should feel proud of their bodies but should value in themselves to not cheapen themselves. I don't see the line between and out and out trashiness, and I'm not sure what the point is in being proud to be a . I think being proud to be a woman is something to be valued. Yes, a terribly old fashioned idea but one that I'm not ashamed of holding or passing on.

I am proud of my right and my ability to represent myself in any way that I would like and not feel shamed by a word and some one else's perception of that word and how it relates to me. You don't have to see the line, it's my line, it's personal. I don't expect others to see it. I know that it doesn't matter if I wear slutty clothing, trashy clothing, workout clothing, or a nun's habit, none of it is an invitation to rape. Period.

 

[Quiche]

The definition of "" or "slutty" is verrrry subjective, but imo, it never belongs in an attempt to justify an act of rape. Never.

 

[Donjeta]

I expect cheap and trashy are a pretty subjective concept as well. What is the coolest thing for one person may seem cheap to another. But cheapness should be quite irrelevant when talking about rape and other violent crime. No one is cheap and trashy enough to be raped.

 

[Charlie09]

The definition of "" or "slutty" is verrrry subjective, but imo, it never belongs in an attempt to justify an act of rape. Never.

There seems to be an intent effort made to twist my point. But I find that common anytime I say there should be personal responsibility.

No one is justifying rape. No one ever deserves rape.

There are times that women should take care to not put themselves into compromising situations.

I don't consider the walk to be a compromising situation, just silliness about a serious topic.