This is for anyone who has ever been called a slut against their will.

For everyone resisting misogyny and violence.

We are here to speak up because so many women have had to stay silent to survive.

We’ve got your back. And the feminist movement is nowhere near through.

 

Rape culture is…

Police telling us that “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized.”

We’re telling them to stop blaming the victim

and start naming the system:

The courts, the media, the institutions

We’re telling those in power

You should know better!

Go after the systems that excuse it, hide it, ignore it.

 

Rape Culture is…

People thinking men are always logical, in control, responsible

and women are always irrational, unreasonable, hysterical

Except when it comes to sexual assault…

when it’s never men’s fault

“They can’t control themselves”

And women, well they should

Just try harder, live somewhere better, work somewhere safer

Bring a buddy, watch your back, drink less, wear more

Bolt your windows, Lock your door

They say: Women! Be careful! Pay attention, you’ll be safest!

While “boys will be boys” keeps excusing the rapists

STOP trying to control our sexuality

STOP feeling entitled to women’s bodies

My body is not an invitation to action.

Girl students in school are not a “distraction.”

 

We are not to blame.

This is not our shame.

 

We can staunch this tide of backward thinking

The myths lurking in the back alleys of our society’s subconscious.

 

Rape Culture is saying…

“But didn’t you go home with him?”

“How much did you have to drink?”

“Did you actually say no?”

 

Attitudes are changeable and we’re all here as proof

Despite all our society tells us, this rape culture is not an inevitable truth

 

Safety is…

everyone realizing that rape is everyone’s problem

Because it’s normalized, minimized, and frighteningly common

 

Safety is saying…

“Why did he think it would be ok to do that to her?”

“What does she need to heal from this?”

“What are we teaching boys anyway?”

 

Rape culture is…

Individuals competing not to be the next victim

We are compared and divided for limited resources

Competing for safety, rather than joining forces

Who does it serve if I’m asking myself:

How to make sure that he rapes someone else?

 

Safety is not a scarce commodity like oil or gold

Limited, individual, bought and sold

Safety is not streetlights, a cab ride, barbed condoms, more guns

anti-rape nail polish, anti-rape underwear, rape whistles, or dressing like nuns

 

Safety is…

Women’s resistance to violence and oppression. Understanding that we are all affected.

That every time a woman is raped, my liberation and your liberation are impacted.

 

Safety is…

The 360 women currently standing up to the RCMP together

Refusing to be divided or silenced in a culture of harassment and violence

 

Rape culture is…

surviving a sexual assault only to be killed by our community calling us:

bitches, sluts, whores.

Because bitches,

sluts,

whores

don’t get believed,

supported,

loved.

Amanda Todd, Reteah Parsons, Cindy Gladue

We remember

We’re still angry

We’re still fighting

Something better is near

A world where the word “slut” doesn’t justify violence

One where survivors aren’t shamed, blamed, or silenced

 

Safety is…

That voice deep down in your gut that says

“it wasn’t my fault”

“it wasn’t my fault.”

“it wasn’t my fault!”

And refuses to be shut down

And needs to hear us say it too.

 

We believe you.

And the feminist movement is nowhere near through.