Hundreds of women gathered in Singapore on Sunday to protest against sexual violence against women in a “SlutWalk” march to raise public awareness. The tiny city-state usually does not allow demonstrations, but this rare public show for women's rights was seemingly well received by onlookers. “It is certainly a different atmosphere, and a lot of the people standing by and watching did not seem to get too angry at what was happening,” said Tina Chang, a 22-year-old university student in Singapore. She told Bikyamasr.com that the protest was “a huge success.” The protest saw music, speeches and a women's Muay Thai martial arts exhibition. Atypically of their fellow SlutWalk activists in the United States and Canada, the rally in Singapore was not a provocative attire event, instead Chang said the message trumped the clothes, or lackthereof. “The idea was not to vamp it up, because women can get raped regardless of what they're wearing,” said Vanessa Ho, who organized the event with six friends, in an interview with CBS news. “We're trying to raise awareness against victim-blaming and slut-shaming.” Chang and her friends also said that if they had worn provocative clothes, it would not have been as successful. “This is a conservative society and if women would have been out their in skimpy stuff, people would have gotten angry and the idea would have been lost,” she said. SlutWalk marches have been held in cities around the world, including earlier this year in New Delhi and Sydney. The protests originated in Toronto, where they were sparked by a police officer's remark that women could avoid being raped by not dressing like “sluts.” In Toronto and later Boston, several women marched in lingerie with the word “slut” painted on their bodies. Corinna Lim, executive director of the Singapore women's rights group Aware, said many sexual assault cases go unreported, especially date rape, she was quoted in local and international media as saying. Aware recently started a hotline for sexual abuse victims and offers to accompany women to the police and the hospital after an assault. “The family of the victim will sometimes say, ‘What were you wearing?'” Lim said. “Singapore women have modernized quite quickly in a short time, but Singapore is still a very conservative society.” Lim praised last month's decision by authorities in Singapore to abolish a law that allowed a woman's sexual history to be examined during a rape trial. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/YbTMT Tags: Singapore, Slutwalk Section: East Asia, Latest News, Sexual Harassment, Women
