Richmond's first ?Slut Walk? brings up sexual assualt awareness ...

Posted on: 12:18 am, September 23, 2012, by Jake Burns and Megan Woo, updated on: 08:35am, September 23, 2012

RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) ? To speak out against how sexual assault is viewed in today?s America, more than 170 people took to the streets today in Richmond?s first every ?Slut Walk.?? Their creed: ?Abolish the Blame: Bringing Awareness to Sexual Assault and Victim Blaming.?

Speaking through a loud speaker in front of dozens at Byrd Park, Sarah Boggs shared her story for the first time.

?I was raped by two boys in one night,? says Boggs to the crowd.? ?Hearing other people?s stories, telling them mine, it really helped a lot. ?It made me so much more comfortable telling my story.?

Saturday afternoon was Richmond?s first ever ?Slut Walk.?? After a march through the Fan District, survivors and supporters came together to talk about the main problem they see with how society views sexual assaults.

?The blame comes back on the victim, it should have nothing to do with what the victim is wearing, how old the victim is, what race the victim is,? says Kate Rush-Cook, who was a victim of sexual assault.

Organizers say the victim of sexual assault is often blamed for the attack because of the way the person dresses or acts.? It is a social stigma they want to change.

Jennifer Sublett, an assistant Commonwealth?s Attorney in Richmond, spoke at Saturday?s event.? She says sexual assault cases are the most difficult to prosecute.

?It?s always one person?s word against the other,? says Sublett.? ?It?s not about sexuality; it?s about vulnerability.?

Those in attendance brought signs to bring attention to the false idea that the way someone dresses makes them a target for sexual predators.

?Wearing a certain type of clothing isn?t going to stop it.? It isn?t going to stop a person,? says Dominique Lee, who is also a victim of sexual assault.

?I?ve heard people say that she?s going to be raped seeing a girl walk by.? People have to realize that that?s not okay,? says Boggs.

So to start changing this stigma, survivors stood by each other and shared their stories of pain as a sign of what they want to change.

?It?s not okay to blame the victim,? says Rush-Cook.

Although this was the first ?Slut Walk? in Richmond, it won?t be the last.? Organizers say they will continue to share their message by doing another Slut Walk next year.

To read more about the ?Slut Walk? movement internationally, visit Slut Walk Richmond?s website.

Source: http://wtvr.com/2012/09/23/richmonds-first-slut-walk-brings-up-sexual-assualt-awareness/

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