Men in hard hats paused from digging up Piccadilly to watch in stunned silence as the provocative procession marched past.
But they would not have dared to wolf whistle as women in stockings, bras and basques passed, clutching banners with statements like “cleavage is not consent”.
The women were among the up to 5,000 people organisers say took part in the UK’s latest Slutwalk in London on Saturday.
The protest movement was sparked by a Canadian policeman who advised students to “avoid dressing like sluts” to avoid being victimised.
Since then, thousands of people worldwide have taken to the streets to highlight a culture in which they say the victim, rather than the abuser, is blamed.
Whether wearing four-inch heels with “slut” painted on their chests, or jeans and trainers, the marchers were united in their message.
Chants of “blame the rapist not the victim, doesn’t matter what I’m dressed in” rang out above the roar of traffic.
“Our culture needs to change – teach people not to rape, not how not to be raped,” says 21-year-old student Rhiannon Frame.
Double standards
Some marchers said they knew victims of sex assaults, while others had experienced casual abuse from men who assumed their outfits made them fair game.
“If you go to a club you can be grabbed on the behind three times in an evening by a bloke who thinks it’s ok because you’re wearing a short skirt. There’s an assumption it’s flattering,” Sophie Durham, 23, said.
Some said women experience double standards in which they are under pressure to look sexy, but are also expected to live chaste lives.
“There’s a culture in which women are expected to put out but if they do, they’re sluts. Women call other women sluts,” Philippa Dunjay, 23 said.
While the march was sparked by attitudes across the Atlantic, marchers said recent comments on rape by Justice Secretary Ken Clarke plus the low conviction rate meant the issue was relevant in the UK.
Mr Clarke was forced to apologise after appearing to suggest some rapes were not as serious as others during a BBC interview on sentencing.
Hannah McQuarrie, 25, said: “His comments were wrong. Any assault which invades someone’s privacy or takes away the rights of their body is wrong.”
Gemma Bell, 35, said she once served on a jury in a rape trial in which the behaviour and dress of the victim was raised by the defence – a move which was just taken for granted at the time.
“There was a suggestion the victim was in some way responsible, it was used as an expression of fault,” she said.
‘Feminism is cool’
While there were placards and leaflets by groups such as the Socialist Workers’ Party and the London Feminist Network, many present were on their first-ever march.
And some feel the outpouring of protest could mark a new chapter in the feminist movement which has not always been viewed positively by young women.
The organiser of the London event was a 17-year-old sixth former, Anastasia Richardson.

Read the full article from its original source http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13739876

CleverKnicKers supports the awareness brought forth by this march, but there is still a debate of whether No always means No.

For a sex worker consent is often in the form of money.  If money is then failed to be paid, does the sex that was prior now become a rape case?

If a woman were to consent to a man pushing his fingers inside her, encourage an erection with her hands, straddle him- but then say NO…does that make it rape when he pushes her down over his erection?

Thankfully the whole issue of rape became a talking point especially after the UK formally made rape a crime within marriage in the early nineties.

Women cried No means No! Marilyn French’s assertion that all men are potential rapists was repeated and discussed openly, and people began to examine their often unconscious judgments that a woman was “asking for it” if she wasn’t dressed appropriately.

Men really did take a beating about rape at that time.  Giving up the “right” to be able to rape their wives seemed reasonable, but being branded a potential rapist just because of their gender seemed harder to swallow.

Psychologists concluded that rape was actually about power.  That women who fantasised about rape did not actually want to be raped, and that rape was far more likely to occur between people who know each other (95%+ of all rapes).

This overdue national conversation about rape was very important in shaping the lives of women growing up in that time. Many of our CleverKnicKers clients were brought up in this post rape is OK era.

Yet there remains a contradictory issue here.  If women can wear what they want, behave how they want, anytime they want and can not be held at all accountable on any level, that men, even sexually aroused (and teased) men are to blame, then aren’t we asking for the authority figures in the women’s lives to take a firmer approach and curb the behaviour?

Few rapes are anonymous, the snatched off the street and battered and bruised cases that movie makers and TV dramas love.  Most rapes