Slutwalk Boston(AP Images)
AP Images
"You know, I think we're beating around the bush here. I've been told I'm not supposed to say this. However, women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimised."
With these words Canadian police constable Michael Sanguinetti unleashed the kind of fury nobody wants to encounter: that of the woman scorned. Hot on the heels of his comments, given at a York university safety forum, Sonya Barnett and Heather Jarvis organised the first "Slutwalk", a protest movement reeling against the impression that sometimes women "ask for it".
The argument that women invite rape by dressing provocatively has long been used by proponents who have a moralist agenda to push. But such logic avoids the obvious: rape is rape and saying someone "deserved" it is besides the point. It is also ridiculous to expect women to censure their appearances for the sake of not provoking the type of criminal who would rape someone.

This is the ethos behind the Slutwalk protests: that women have the right to appear how they want and not paradoxically be told its their responsibility to stop rapists from raping them. Brandishing posters and often provocative outfits, over 4,000 people supported the Toronto march. The idea caught on like wildfire - the movement has since spawned similar rallies in Europe, the U.S. and Australia. There are even plans to create such a march in India, known to have staggering rape and inequality problems.

So does South Africa, which is why the arrival of this global event to our local streets is big news. Slutwalk is not an international organisation or movement. Instead it has been spawning local events, all fueled through social media sites.

Actress Sandi Schultz, known for her role as Dr. Jennifer Adams in the local soapie Binnelanders, is organising a Slutwalk for Johannesburg, taking place on 20 August. It will be joined by a march in Cape Town on the same day (and a Durban march is also being planned). Schultz herself is a victim of rape, having been assaulted in her Yeoville home in 1993.

"I know from experience that what you wear has nothing to do with being assaulted," said Schultz. "You don't have to call yourself a slut to come and support us. People keep saying 'Don't wear this'. They don't say, 'Don't rape'." The local event has already attracted 800 supporters on Facebook and Schultz, who is blown away by the response, hopes that even more people will join the effort.

Slutwalks have been controversial purely for their names. Some debate that using the word is demeaning in itself. British MP Louise Bagshawe has said it "lionises promiscuity," adding that "promiscuity is not equality."

In India the event's name had to be altered, due to there not being a word for "slut" in the local languages. Instead it was renamed to SlutWalk Arthaat Besharmi Morcha (SlutWalk Means Shameless Protest).

And then there are still the detractors who insist women invite rape through what they wear. But such persons are appearing increasingly defensive of rape. The women have had enough. As one protester's poster read: "My outfit is not an invitation."