In India's conservative capital, hundreds gathered on Sunday to protest sexual violence against women by participating in a 'SlutWalk' march.
Sparked by a Toronto police officer's remark last winter that women could avoid being raped by not dressing like "sluts," the marches have been held in cities around the world.
In New Delhi, about 500 protestors braved the sweltering July heat to carry placards that read, "Change your thinking not your clothes" and "Our life, our body, our rights."
Globally, 'SlutWalks' are usually marked with short skirts, fishnet stockings, lingerie and painted words emblazoned on participants' bodies.
However, India is still a largely conservative country, even as millions of women now work outside their homes. Most marchers wore jeans, T-shirts or salwar-kameezes, an Indian tunic paired with loose pants.
"We're walking for a cause and we're dressed in the same clothes that we wear every day," organizer Umang Sabharwal told The Associated Press ahead of the march.
'SlutWalks' have been held in Boston, Seattle, London and Sydney, Australia after Toronto's inaugural march last April.
Toronto's march saw thousands of protesters outside the Ontario legislature rally against the officer's remark at York University's Osgoode Hall in January.
Students and staff who were furious that the officer told a group of students at a campus safety information session that they could avoid assaults by not dressing like a slut organized the walk.
The march condemns the notion that a woman's appearance can explain or excuse rape and sexual harassment.
In India, public sexual taunting or groping of women, known as 'Eve teasing,' is common and despite modernization, attitudes towards women are still largely patriarchal.
A government-backed United Nations survey found that 85 per cent of women in New Delhi are afraid of being sexually harassed.
"I think Delhi is the city that needs the 'SlutWalk' the most," Sabharwal said. "Everyone knows what the environment here is like for a woman and I think the reason why it happens the most is because we accept it."
India's National Crime Records Bureau recorded more than 20,000 rape cases in 2008, up 18 per cent from 2004.
But most cases still go unreported in the country because victims fear having to face male police officers who might dismiss or deride their complaints.
Toronto's slut walk inspires events in U.S., London
A Toronto police officer who suggested that women shouldn't dress like "sluts" if they wanted to avoid being raped or assaulted, has sparked a number of international protest marches.
The officer made the remarks in January at York University's Osgoode Hall, telling a group of students at an information session that not dressing like a slut was one way to avoid being assaulted.
The comments triggered a so-called Slut Walk at Queen's Park in Toronto that attracted thousands of participants.
Organizers argued that no one should be blamed for a rape or sexual assault committed against them, regardless of what they wear or how they act.
The movement has now spread to the U.S. and England, with similar events planned for Boston on Saturday and London on June 4.
"This is a walk to protest both slut-shaming and rape culture. It's a walk to take back the word SLUT in order to show that the nature of your being is not determined by how many sexual partners you have," says the website for Boston Slutwalk, which claims the event was inspired by the Toronto march.
In addition to the walk through downtown Boston, the event also includes workshops on the power of language, partner violence, men's role in preventing rape and sexual assault and something called "SlutStyles (on polyamory and non-monogamy)."
Organizers of SlutWalk London also credit the Toronto event as providing their inspiration.
On their website, organizers describe themselves as "a group of people who will be marching, stamping, rolling, shouting and hollering through the streets of London on Saturday, 4th June, to tell the world that rape is never, ever the fault of the victim - no matter WHAT they were wearing!"
The website invites people of all genders, races, ages, religions and sexualities to take part and "show the world that SLUT is something to be proud of."
Other events are planned this summer for cities across the U.S., including Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Reno, Nev. and Austin, Tx.
In Toronto both women and men took part in the Slut Walk event, with participants wearing everything from normal street clothes to much more provocative outfits -- or lack thereof.
Some danced, others wore T-shirts emblazoned with the word "slut" while many carried placards that said "sluts pay taxes." A number of men also took part, some wearing shirts that said "I love sluts."
The officer who made the comments in Toronto, Const. Michael Sanguinetti, was disciplined but still remains on duty.
Mark Pugash, a spokesperson for the Toronto Police, said the comments "were completely unacceptable and did not reflect the way the TPS trains and teaches its officers."
SLUT WALK MONTREAL
An international march to "take back the word ‘slut'"took place in Montreal Sunday.
Protesters showed their support at SlutWalk, the growing movement arguing that no one should be blamed for a rape or sexual assault committed against them, regardless of what they wear or how they act.
"We are here to say if we're a sex worker or if we're dressed sexy, there's no way it means consenting. Even sex workers have the right to say no," said Emilie Laliberte, general director of Stella, a group fighting for sex workers' rights and one of the organizers of the event.
The crowd of 300 or so came out in a variety of colourful garb, including some topless women, and others wearing shirts that read "Sluts Unite."
Members of the crowd waved placards that read, "This dress is not a yes," and "Viva la slut revolution."
The group said it is against "slut-shaming."
"In the tradition of taking back degrading slurs such as queer and re-appropriating them to remove the shame we want to do the same with the term ‘slut.' People regardless of their gender should be allowed to dress however they please without fear of judgment, harassment or violence. Furthermore, we want to deconstruct the double standard that being promiscuous is a respectable lifestyle for heterosexual men only," reads a statement on the Montreal event's Facebook page.
Micheline Chartier of Glam Gam Productions, one of the organizers, said she felt there was nothing wrong with dressing provocatively.
"I feel sexy in this, and I want to feel sexy -- but it's not an invitation," she said. "Women still face slut-shaming in our society and it's important to call that out when it happens."
The marches were sparked by a Toronto police officer who suggested that women shouldn't dress like "sluts" if they wanted to avoid being raped or assaulted.
The officer made the remarks in January at York University's Osgoode Hall, telling a group of students at an information session that not dressing like a slut was one way to avoid being assaulted.
The comments triggered a so-called Slut Walk at Queen's Park in Toronto that attracted thousands of participants.
The movement quickly spread throughout Canada, and to the U.S. and England.
The officer who made the comments in Toronto, Const. Michael Sanguinetti, was disciplined but remains on duty.
Mark Pugash, a spokesperson for the Toronto Police, said the comments "were completely unacceptable and did not reflect the way the TPS trains and teaches its officers."
Maryse Rinfred-Raynor from Universite de Montreal's school of social work said it's not surprising women are so outraged by the police officer's comment.
"I really feel that women who react to that kind of thing are right to do so, because no woman should be perceived only sexually - a woman is much more than that," she said.
It's a lesson SlutWalk attendee Jenny Cockburn said she wants to teach her seven-year-old daughter.
"Her value as a woman is beyond her sexuality, but that there's also no shame in her having her sexuality and expressing her sexuality," she said.
The Montreal SlutWalk began at Peace Park on St-Laurent St., where speeches took place with members of Stella, queer solidarity group PolitiQ, and Glam Gam.
The event ended with a party at Le Drugstore bar. All proceeds went to Stella.
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