SlutWalk Hamilton will take to the streets on Sunday, June 5 at 2 p.m.
We will meet at City Hall, then march through to Hamilton Police Services’ Central Police Station.
I know. You’re psyched. So are we!
The Facebook event page is here. Join up!
The following is a list of demands to be presented to HPS at the conclusion of our march on Sunday, June 5, 2011. An online petition for those that could not attend the march can be found here.
To the Representatives of Hamilton Police Services, and Chief of Police Glen de Caire;
The following are a list of demands we ask be addressed in a public forum in mid-September (date and location TBA). At that time, we will invite community members to take part in a discussion about our requests with representatives from Hamilton Police Services (HPS). A similar document will also be presented via a deputation to the Hamilton Police Services Board this fall.
According to Statistics Canada, more than 90% of those who experience sexualized assault in Canada do not disclose to the police, many citing fear and distrust of the police and/or their investigative methods. We are aware that many staff hours from community agencies are allocated to work with you to better respond to the rights and lived experiences of survivors of sexualized assault. However, part of SlutWalk Hamilton’s mandate is to encourage more community discussion about the protocols, methods and training materials utilized by HPS regarding reports of sexualized assault.
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Hi everyone!
Please check out our route map. We have two legs (so to speak), the first taking us through Hess Village, then back down Main, past City Hall on our way to the Police Headquarters. It may seem a little wonky to some, but passing through the Village was important to us, we weren’t too jazzed about marching against traffic on Main St., and also those with mobility challenges who might have some difficulty with the entire march can join up as we pass City Hall. Check it out!
A couple of weeks ago, every single elected official representing the Hamilton area (in all three levels of government) was contacted in hopes of gaining some support and solidarity. A couple simply noted they couldn’t attend, but thanked us for having the march, and didn’t respond to a request for a letter of support. However, the ONLY elected official to offer us a letter of support to share was Councillor Brian McHattie (Ward 1), a tireless advocate for many in our community. Many thanks, Brian!
We at SlutWalk Hamilton could use some help. Though we’ve received some wonderful volunteer support, we’re needing some materials to help us put together some signs and placards for our event on June 5! As we have very little in the way of monetary donations, our committee is fronting the money for our costs (meeting space rental, printing costs, etc) out-of-pocket.
What We Need:
-poster paint (several colours)
-brushes
-100 sheets of bristol board (white)
-a large stretch of white fabric suitable for a banner
-40-50 lengths of wood suitable to attach our posters to be used as placard holders
Your donations would be greatly appreciated. Similarly, if you can offer a small monetary donation, please get in touch. All money left over will be donated to our partnering agencies.
Please email Mary-Cathryn if you can help! mc@slutwalkhamilton.com
We are pleased to announce that Jane Doe, a Toronto-based anti-rape writer, teacher and activist, will be speaking at SlutWalk Hamilton. Jane Doe successfully sued the Toronto Police for negligence and gender discrimination in the investigation of her rape, and changed Canadian law. Her work locates sexual assault within an equality context and integrates issues of race, immigration, colonialism, queerphobia and sex work. Her book, “The Story of Jane Doe” is on the curriculuum of university courses across Canada.
We love you, Minneapolis.
There’s been a real pile-on in the media about the SlutWalk movement. But one of the most earnest, genuine voices I’ve read in several days, from an organizer with SlutWalk Minneapolis, hit the blogosphere recently. I’d like to reprint a portion of it below, the original post can be found here. The title says it all.
“We always welcome constructive criticism. It strengthens us, fills in the weak areas, and improves everything. People who are courteous, kind, and thoughtful, are always welcome to talk to us. We want to make sure SlutWalk Minneapolis is as truly a welcoming event as we have written in our Mission Statement.
If I didn’t think “slut” was a powerful word before becoming a part of SlutWalk, I certainly do now.
I knew we had our work cut out for us. I knew we would take it on the chin from people who misunderstood. I just didn’t think it would come from people I should consider allies. Yeah, that’s right. I’ll say it: we’re being Slut(Walk)-shamed.
Following in the footsteps of SlutWalk Toronto, we are giving a loud, local voice to call an end to slut-shaming and victim-blaming everywhere: from within our homes, classrooms and workplaces to the media, streets and courthouses. In response, we celebrate our right to enjoy safe, consensual sex without apology, justification or explanation. When we dress or express in a way perceived as provocative, we are called SLUTS, or similar terms to incite shame, disdain and pity. So we are claiming and reinventing the word; by taking it for ourselves, we’re dismantling the harmful stigma it wields.
Everyone deserves respect, protection and justice when faced with sexualized assault and harassment — no matter how we dress or express ourselves. There is too much evidence showing us that survivors of sexualized assault and harassment – usually women – are not only blamed for the abuse they suffer, but are often viewed as having invited it. Instead of dignity and a place to heal, survivors are often met with shame, blame and further oppression. No one deserves this.
We call on our protective services to not only do their job, but to take more direction from the agencies working to advocate for us. We want our police force to be more transparent with their practices and budgets, and confront how they help to perpetuate victim-blaming and slut-shaming in our community. We ask our elected officials to make our dignity a priority, and to initiate a federal commission on sexual assault. We ask our protective services to work alongside those agencies working with sex workers to help combat the violence they face every day. We stand against those who point, jeer, stare and whisper behind our backs. We ask that blame be placed where it belongs: on those who perpetrate sexualized assault and harassment. We will not be shamed, ignored, pitied or devalued anymore. We’ve had enough.
We acknowlege the consequences of the genocide of the First Nations peoples and white colonization in the land now known as Canada. Due to the legislated racism of the Indian Act and the residential school system, thousands of Metis and First Nations peoples were subject to tens of thousands of sexualized assaults with little to no access to protection or justice. The bodies of First Nations and Metis women viewed as disposable in our culture continues with the Harper government canceling the funding of Sisters in Spirit last year, a national project compiling data on hundreds murdered and missing Aboriginal women. This funding must be replaced and expanded now.
Everyone, from all points in our community, people of any age, gender expression or orientation, ability, ethnicity — slut or ally — are invited to join SlutWalk. This event is about reclamation, celebration and calling for justice, so please wear whatever makes you feel comfortable. Sisters, brothers, parents, children and grandparents; we’re in this together. Slut-shaming and victim-blaming didn’t start with us, but we can help make it a part of history.
There are many mistaken assumptions circulating about the prevalence, nature and “cause” of sexual assault. Below is a collection of many of the persistent and widespread myths associated with sexual assault in Canada. Women and childen represent the vast majority of survivors in Canada, but more and more studies indicate startling statistics about male survivors as well.
It’s time for some serious MYTH BUSTING!!
It has only been a few weeks since we at SlutWalk Hamilton have taken up the cause and brought the movement to our own city. Like many, my ears immediately pricked up when the news of the Toronto police officer made the well-publicized gaffe at York University in January, advising those gathered at a campus safety to event that “in order not to be victimized, you shouldn’t dress like a slut.”
The story went viral. Within a few short weeks, a “SlutWalk” had been planned for Toronto. Little more than two weeks after the event, a few Hamilton-based SlutWalk attendees found each other on Facebook. We used our own money to put up a web page and to rent a meeting space, and called a meeting. Along with more than 60 (that’s right – sixty!) other communities across the globe, we decided to coordinate our own Slutwalk. So we are.