The Sluts' March 2014 in Haifa: "Enough with Rape Culture"

"A nose - a garment - is not an invitation to rape" - "We are struggling to silence the victims" - "No, we are not transparent - women are making revolutions" - "Jewish and Arab women are fighting sexism" are some of the slogans that the participants of the sluts' march in Haifa uttered. The organizer of the march, Hila Shahrabani: "I feel a change in the conversation, much more understanding of the messages of the march and over time people are more interested, more listening, more digesting and this year there are more men than last year."

Dozens of women and men, mostly young men and women, participated yesterday (Friday) in the Sluts' March, which is taking place for the third year in a number of cities in Israel, including Haifa. Although this year participation was felt to be low and less than last year, but the number of participating men increased. Passers-by, whether men or women, and even parents with children, stood and listened and expressed interest. And between the stories they heard from the participants, most of whom had been sexually harassed, there was applause from the audience as encouragement and respect for the courage and daring in exposing the personal stories in public.

From the stories you can hear about harassment at work, in the public space, even by friends or spouses, and all because of the social perception that enables the culture of rape. This is because the claim that clothing is too revealing, drinking alcohol, or bringing a man into the home is somehow always understood as an invitation to violence and rape, and this is a misunderstanding that must to fix it. In the end, the women's appearance does not express consent for any random person to decide what they are allowed to do with their bodies. Everyone has the right to be in the public space without giving up their safety. This was the main message of the protest.

"It is difficult to measure the achievements, but the small effects are possible"

The organizer of the Haifa march, Hila Shahrabani in an interview with Lahi Pa: "We seek to reclaim the public space, everywhere. The choice of Haifa is due to it being a central city in the north, which can bring to it all the women of the north whose personal security has been taken away from them or the sexual violence they experience goes through a social justification that has actually been silenced. It is difficult to measure the achievements but the effects The smallness is possible. I feel that victims of sexual assault who take part in this movement feel much more confident in themselves, blame themselves less for what happened to them and learn that there is a person who is to blame and should be condemned socially, because in my eyes this is the greatest gift we can receive And I believe that in a few years we can see results on the ground."

Regarding the low participation, the rabbi adds: "This is a problem that always accompanies protests that take place outside of Tel Aviv because Tel Aviv is a much more accessible city in terms of transportation, a central city that is easier to get to, more pleasant and even psychologically easier to get to, which is why the protests there are always bigger. We didn't try to compete from the beginning Because we knew it wouldn't be the same size, what we are working on in collaboration, so we came with low expectations. Last year there were more participants, but relatively the participation is quite good."

Referring to the name of the march, which arouses great interest, the rabbi adds: "Slut is a word that is attributed only to women, and is intended to humiliate and shame women in connection with their sexual conduct. The same standard does not apply to men, who are not expected to feel shame in connection with their sexuality, and even the opposite is true. Women, on the other hand, are always judged for something - or their clothing , or their sexual history, or the very existence of sexuality in their being. So in our eyes, the deliberate use of the word 'slut' comes to frost with this concept - if there is such a thing as a slut, then we are all sluts, because there will always be someone in the world who will judge us negatively, according to a standard that chooses for us. We are here to say and remind that victims of sexual assault are never to blame."

Change in discourse and understanding of messages

"I feel a change in the discourse, much more understanding of the messages of the march. As time goes by, people are more interested, more listening, more digesting and this year there are more men than last year" Concludes that the rabbi conveys a message to women, especially to those who have been harmed and harassed: "Feel safe, feel beautiful and do what feels right to you. Know that it exists and there's no way to avoid it and it's important to point the finger in the right place. Take care of yourself and don't feel like doing something that shouldn't be done."

More on the march

Basic principles of the march include:

• Commitment to eradicate the practice of blaming the victim: no one deserves to be raped, attacked, or harassed.
• The SlutWalk movement belongs to everyone and exists for everyone: anyone who has experienced sexual violence or sexual or gender shaming.
• Acknowledgment that within the rape culture, there are populations that experience double and triple oppression: the more someone experiences social/political oppression, the more the rape culture and victim blaming will affect them to an increased extent.

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