Jerusalem SlutWalk to protest rape culture, victim blaming

Jerusalem’s annual SlutWalk will take place on Friday morning in protest of rape culture and victim blaming for the 12th year, organizers announced.

SlutWalk is a global movement that was born in 2011 when a Canadian police officer said that women “should avoid dressing like sluts” if they do not want to be victims of sexual violence. Participants in the demonstrations often dress in clothing that some consider revealing, and event organizers emphasize that there is no dress code.

To adjust the event to the difficult times that the country is facing, the walk will be held in a different format this year, said organizers, with participants gathering at Zion Square in Jerusalem for a ceremony in which they will read out the names of the women who were murdered this year, before gathering at a local bar for speeches and discussion circles.

More needed than ever

“This year, sexual violence and gender-based violence are closing in on us from all directions and we need the march more than ever,” said the organizers. “It was not simple for us to organize the march this year when there is so much pain and so many causes to fight for around us. Alongside that, it was clear to us that we could not back down.”

“So we are here – here to voice our outcry, to hurt together, to demand another reality. We are here because sexual violence is still used as a weapon against us in so many ways,” they said.

“We are here to cry out against a government, a state, and a society that still has so much to fix. We are here demanding the security and basic respect that we deserve. Always, and especially now,” they emphasized.