This story contains mention of sexual violence. Those in need of support can call the Ottawa Distress Centre Crisis Line: 613-238-3311, the Sexual Assault Support Center of Ottawa Crisis Line: 613-234-2266 or the Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre Line: 613-562-2333.
Chants calling for sexual violence awareness and bodily autonomy echoed through downtown Ottawa on Sept. 8, spreading awareness and empowerment at the annual SlutWalk.
SlutWalk 2024 was carried out against the backdrop of a shifting political atmosphere around education and health care, notably Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s stance on gender identity and past cuts to sex education. Activists waved hand-drawn posters and huddled together for warmth as they shouted out the frustrations and pain of survivors everywhere.
SlutWalk is hosted annually by the Purple Sisters Youth Advisory, an Ottawa youth group bringing awareness to women’s issues that intersect between race and sexuality.
Organizer Amira Brehaut noted SlutWalk took place at a “very stressful time” in Canadian politics. In an increasingly polarized society, Brehaut said she feels a responsibility to continue showing up for women and gender-diverse individuals to provide a safe space for them to tell their stories.
“I feel like every single woman I know has survived sexual harassment on a very regular basis,” Brehaut said. “There’s so many of us.”
Brehaut said part of the problem is young people seeking “clout” or power through offensive or misogynistic behaviour, such as using demeaning language and objectifying women and girls.
She said she supports messaging toward teenage boys that teaches them how dominant and aggressive behaviour, which may be conceived as a measure of their masculinity, can lead to violence against women and girls.
Changing that narrative starts with education, Brehaut explained. She said sex education, particularly around consent, is vital to preventing rape culture from persisting among young people.
Brehaut also cited Ford’s educational cuts as a sign of the conservative shift taking place within Canadian politics that have impacted the education sector, including funding issues for the upcoming school year.
“This is not what survivors and allies need in order to combat sexual violence,” Brehaut said. “Leaders need to be talking to survivors and activists and learning from their experiences of what they need. [You] have to be willing to learn what they’ve been through.”
SlutWalk speaker Nitya Thondapu said she chose to get involved with the Purple Sisters as a way to feel empowered as a 16-year-old high school student.
She said slut-shaming is normalized among her peers, especially with the use of social media. She pointed particularly to clothing and how it can be percieved and judged as a communicative tool – a girl’s wardrobe decisions can be misconcieved as her consent or willingness for sexual acts.
“Wearing a crop top was seen as a slutty move,” Thondapu said. “It became an issue where you couldn’t dress for yourself.”
Thondapu said she believes SlutWalk provides the space for young people to feel more confident in themselves, their bodies and their clothing choices. She says the movement has helped her in her own journey with body dysmorphia.
“SlutWalk means being myself,” Thondapu said. “It makes me feel confident in a way that I’ve never felt before.”
Kelly Trojanowski and May Gotceitas said they attended the march to show support for survivors of sexual violence and, more generally, women at a time when their bodily rights are being challenged.
Trojanowski, a fourth-year neuroscience student at Carleton University, said she believes SlutWalk allows women to be visible and raise awareness in a society where their voices are often drowned out.
After experiencing social conditioning where women are instructed to not speak up, Trojanowski said screaming and protesting downtown “felt weird and scary.”
“[SlutWalk is] a visual display of anger that’s supposed to speak out against rape culture,” Trojanowski said in a phone interview following SlutWalk. “It felt really cool, really scary.”
Gotceitas, a fourth-year Carleton computer science student, said that it is extremely important that sex education continues to be taught in schools to prevent sexual violence.
Alongside Trojanowski, Gotceitas said she fears how politics are affirming an increasingly conservative position on gendered issues such as reproductive rights and gender-affirming care and could cause further barriers to gender-diverse people accessing care.
“I think that women’s rights are very much in jeopardy right now,” Gotceitas said in an email to the Charlatan.
“I’m scared. I know my trans friends are scared,” Trojanowski said.
Despite educational cuts and conservative policies, Brehaut said she feels optimistic about the empowerment SlutWalk offered for survivors, women and gender-diverse individuals.
“If anybody’s reading this, I can’t stress enough that there are communities of people who are fighting really hard for the rights of survivors,” Brehaut said. “There are people who care.”
Featured image by Sadeen Mohsen/the Charlatan.
