Hey femmes,

Are you sick of this shit?

Sick of police officers telling you that you get what you deserve if you dress like a slut and get sexually assaulted?

Sick of a Manitoba judge's decision to sentence a rapist to house arrest instead of prison, partly because of the way his female victim was dressed?

Sick of Canadian mainstream society not giving a damn about bring justice to the over 1,000 murdered and missing Indigenous women?

Let your anger be a gift.

We gotta stick together ladies!

"Tired of victim-blaming and sexual profiling that appears to run through our Protective Services, SlutWalk is working at re-appropriating the word 'slut' to mean someone who is confident in their sexuality, regardless of their gender identification, and not ashamed of enjoying consensual sex. Slut is not a look; it's an attitude.

We're demanding change and transparency within the sexual assault training program for the Toronto Police.

SlutWalk Toronto aims at opening a dialogue about the use of language and how damaging sexual profiling can be to those who have experienced assault. We are here to reiterate that sexual assault is an act of violence and has nothing to do with a person's appearance. Retraining and community outreach programs are necessary to change the current direction of society's teaching 'don't get raped', and move it toward 'don't rape.'

Toronto will be host to the 1st Annual Slut Walk.

I'll be covering it for rabble.ca (@rabbleca) on Twitter @krystalline_k if you can't make it and want to follow along!

SlutWalk Toronto

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Start: 1:30 p.m.

Starting location: Queen's Park South

Heading to: Toronto Police HQ, 40 College Street

I'm posting this now so you have plenty of time to free up your busy world-saving schedule to come out.

Fwd: "Historically, the term 'slut' has carried a predominantly negative connotation. Aimed at those who are sexually promiscuous, be it for work or pleasure, it has primarily been women who have suffered under the burden of this label. And whether dished out as a serious indictment of one's character or merely as a flippant insult, the intent behind the word is always to wound, so we're taking it back. 'Slut' is being re-appropriated.

We are tired of being oppressed by slut-shaming; of being judged by our sexuality and feeling unsafe as a result. Being in charge of our sexual lives should not mean that we are opening ourselves to an expectation of violence, regardless if we participate in sex for pleasure or work. No one should equate enjoying sex with attracting sexual assault."

For updates, click here.