science

SlutWalk

SlutWalk is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand SlutWalk rather than just read about it. In short: SlutWalk is a transnational movement calling for an end to rape culture, including victim blaming and slut-shaming of sexual assault victims. Participants protest against explaining or excusing rape by referring to any aspect of a woman's appearance.

Key takeaways

SlutWalk belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect SlutWalk to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of SlutWalk from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

SlutWalk is a transnational movement calling for an end to rape culture, including victim blaming and slut-shaming of sexual assault victims. Participants protest against explaining or excusing rape by referring to any aspect of a woman's appearance. The rallies began on April 3, 2011, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, after a Toronto Police officer suggested that "women should avoid dressing like sluts in order to not be victimized" as a precaution against sexual assault. Subsequent independent rallies have occurred globally. Rallies continued through most of the 2010s before ceasing. The protest took the form of a march, mainly by young women, where some dress in clothes considered to be "slutty." In the various SlutWalk Toronto-inspired events around the world, there are usually speaker meetings and workshops, live music, sign-making sessions, leafleting, open microphones, chanting, dances, martial arts, and receptions or after-parties with refreshments. In many of the rallies and online, women speak publicly for the first time about their identity as rape survivors.

Inception

Constable Michael Sanguinetti On January 24, 2011, Toronto Police Constable Michael Sanguinetti and another officer from 31 Division spoke on crime prevention, addressing the issue of campus rape at a York University safety forum at Osgoode Hall Law School. During the talk, Sanguinetti interrupted the more senior officer and said: "I've been told I'm not supposed to say this – however, women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized." After an article that reported on the situation received international attention, Sanguinetti apologized for the remark saying:

I made a comment which was poorly thought out and did not reflect the commitment of the Toronto Police Service to the victims of sexual assaults. Violent crimes such as sexual assaults can have a traumatizing effect on their victims... My comment was hurtful in this respect. I am embarrassed by the comment I made and it shall not be repeated. The apology was attached to an email distributed to the Osgoode community by law school dean Lorne Sossin who said they've been told the officer "is being disciplined and will be provided with further professional training." Co-founders Sonya Barnett and Heather Jarvis decided to redefine the word slut as someone who is in control of their own sexuality, to reclaim the word slut as a site of power for women. They observe that historically, slut has had negative connotations, and that their goal is to reclaim the term. Their website states:

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. Barnett insisted the apology was not enough, since the officer's stereotypical idea still exists in society.

The comment that was made by Officer Sanguinetti comes from a place where sexual profiling and victim blaming is inherent and a large trait and we'd like that changed," Barnett said, "It isn't about just one idea or one police officer who practices victim blaming, it's about changing the system and doing something constructive with anger and frustration. Toronto Police spokeswoman Meaghan Gray said cautioning women on their state of dress is not part of any police training. "In fact, this is completely contradictory to what officers are taught," she said. "They are taught that nothing a woman does contributes to a sexual assault." Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair also spoke on the matter: "If that type of, frankly, archaic thinking still exists among any of my officers, it highlights for me the need to continue to train my officers and sensitize them to the reality of victimization." Sanguinetti's statement, according to Blair, is meant to "place the blame upon victims, and that's not where the blame should ever be placed." Rosemary Gartner, a University of Toronto criminologist, said linking style of dress to sexual assault is "ridiculous." "If that were the case, there would be no rapes of women who wear veils and we know there are rapes in those countries," she said. Darshika Selvasivam, vice-president of the York Federation of Students, said she found the use of the word "extremely alarming." Linking provocative clothing to sexual assault "is a huge myth" and all it does is "blame the survivor of a sexual assault while taking the onus away from the perpetrator," she said. A university spokesperson also said the school was "surprised and shocked" by the comment, although it does have a good and collaborative relationship with police.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with SlutWalk

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what SlutWalk claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to SlutWalk before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about SlutWalk ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of SlutWalk

In research: SlutWalk appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses SlutWalk in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: SlutWalk is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2011 in Ontario, 2011 protests, Feminist protests, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for SlutWalk outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study SlutWalk in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what SlutWalk means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain SlutWalk out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is SlutWalk in simple terms?

Why does SlutWalk matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study SlutWalk?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on SlutWalk.