On Saturday, August 6, San Francisco hosted its first Slut Walk. Scores of people showed up at Dolores Park to talk about their own personal experiences with rape. As SF Weekly's Ginger Murray reports, Jessica "Jane Doe" Gonzales told her story about being a victim of gang rape: "She was assaulted by her high school football team while unconscious. At the trial the clothing she wore, the fact that she was intoxicated, and her social network photos were all used against her. The perpetrators were not convicted."
Murry goes on to point out, "There were almost as many men marching as women, and and many different communities were in evidence."
Sparked earlier this year, the Slut Walk movement came about after a police officer in Toronto told audience members at York University that "women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized." In addition to shedding light on rape and victim-blaming, Slut Walk co-founders Sonya Barnett and Heather Jarvis "decided to use the word slut in their response. They observe that historically, 'slut' has had negative connotations, and that their goal is to redeem the term."
Here are a few images from Saturday's Slut Walk.
Zombie has more images. Mission Local also has a recorded interview with one of the Slut Walk founders who want people to "keep talking about rape."