End victim-blaming! SlutWalk Perth

150 people walked through the Perth heat on November 16 to call for an end to blaming victims of sexual assault, in the city's third annual SlutWalk.

Initiated in response to comments made by a Toronto, Canada, police officer that women should avoid looking like sluts if they don't want to be raped, SlutWalk continues to attract global support.

Speakers decried the low conviction rate for offenders, and the high rates of sexual assault, with 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men experiencing some kind of sexual assault; and higher rates in trans, bisexual and Aboriginal communities and among people with disability. Rebecca Davies and Bec Leighton from People for Sex Workers' Rights called for measures to facilitate sex workers' safety, particularly decriminalisation of sex work and rejection of the "Swedish model" [to criminalise sex workers' clients], again being threatened for Western Australia.

[This article was written by Kamala Emanuel for Green Left Weekly.]