Dear Supporters,

Thank you all for coming out today!  It was so great to have so many people come out today to speak out and march against victim blaming and sexual violence.  You are all amazing people!

Here is a photo from today, courtesy of Circle from the Association Concerning Sexual Violence Against Women:

For those who could not be at the march due to previous engagements, please find below our programme for Southorn Playground today.

Thank you again for your support.

Best,

Angie

Dear SWHK marchers:

Thank you for your support.  Below are a few notes on this Sunday’s event:

1) We are meeting in Causeway Bay on Patterson St. (at its interesection with Yee Wo St at 3:30pm)
2) SlutWalk HK Marshals will be wearing red sashes
3) Bundle up, it might be chilly
4) Bring big outdoor voices!

xoxo See you all there! xoxo

SlutWalk Hong Kong

What a great party, everyone – thank you for coming out for it!  Hope you like the pictures.  More are available on our Facebook page.

See you all on Sunday!!!!!!!!!!!!

Becca (and Angie) will be doing 30-60 minutes of unchoreographed dancing to music and passing out flyers. Please join if you’d like. Here is our schedule:

Monday (28) – Kowloon Tong, 4:30 pm (outside the main entrance of Festival Walk).
Tuesday (29) – TST, outside of Harbour City just in front of the Star Ferry pier, 2:00 pm.
Wednesday (30) – Central, Staunton St. escalators, 5:30 pm (heading to the poster party after!).
Thursday (1) – Mongkok, outside of Langham Place, 2 pm (main entrance, outside
Friday (2) – Causeway Bay, on East Point Road beside Sogo, 2 pm.

You’ll be able to recognise Becca (and Angie) since Becca’s in the photos from the RainLily walk and Angie’s in the photos below from the RTHK interview. 😀

We had a fun time at the RainLily charity walk on the Peak.  The walk took about an hour and had three stops, one where volunteers were blindfolded, one where volunteers had their hands bound and one where everyone was invited to write messages to survivors.

It was great being on Crystal Kwok’s awesome show on RTHK Radio 3 today!  Don’t forget to check us out on http://www.facebook.com/slutwalkhongkong/  and @SlutWalkHK on Twitter!

Also, we mentioned RainLily on the programme as a source of support for survivors seeking assistance.  Here is their website: http://www.rapecrisiscentre.org.hk/

Helen and Angie will be joining Crystal Kwok on her show and discussing SlutWalk Hong Kong. Please tune in:
http://programme.rthk.org.hk/channel/radio/index.php?c=radio3

Less than two weeks left until the march! Wheee!  More info is also available at: http://www.facebook.com/slutwalkhongkong/ and on Twitter @SlutWalkHK

A big thank you to Ray Kwong on this supportive piece, published on Nov 24 2011 and titled “SlutWalk comes to HK taking stand against sexual violence”! The original link is: http://tinyurl.com/7wovw3v. Please find his piece below:

“I don’t think we’d be seeing similar protests in Beijing or Shanghai anytime soon, but I’d like to call your attention to an important upcoming event here in Hong Kong that you all should be aware of.

“It’s called SlutWalk Hong Kong. And it’s not exactly what you think.

“Some history: Speaking at a crime prevention safety forum in January this year, Toronto police constable Michael Sanguinetti put his foot in his mouth by suggesting that women “should avoid dressing like sluts” to prevent sexual attacks.

“That victim-blaming gaffe set the wheels in motion, sparking a movement that began in Canada, spread to virtually every major city in the US and is now sweeping the world.

“Angie Ng, founder of SlutWalk Hong Kong, says the intent of the event is to take a stand against sexual violence and the misconceptions surrounding it. “SlutWalk supports victims and survivors, and puts the blame where it belongs… on those who commit it,” she said.

“To make it clear, sexual assault goes beyond rape. By definition, it’s any involuntary sexual act in which a person is threatened, coerced, or forced to engage against their will. This includes any sexual touching of a person without consent.

“In Hong Kong, sexual assaults are on the rise, with nearly 1,500 incidents reported in 2010, according to Hong Kong Police Force statistics.

“A study conducted by RainLily, a crisis management and support organization for women who have experienced sexual violence, revealed 78.9 percent of the victims knew or had prior contact with the assailants. In particular, 39.3 percent of the assailants were friends, 13.2 percent were intimate opposite-sex partners, and 19.8 percent were family members. Only 21.1 percent of the assailants were strangers.

“Irene Ng, a RainLily service coordinator commented: “For many, rape is an unspeakable trauma. Victims usually feel guilty and ashamed of themselves. They suffer from mood swings over trivial things. Some of them become socially withdrawn, with their trust in people shattered. Some have problems with dating, marriage and sex. More seriously, half of the victims have self-mutilating behavior as they think life is no longer worth living.”

“SlutWalk Hong Kong happens on Sunday, December 4, at 3 p.m. Supporters will march from Causeway Bay to Wanchai, where there will be an informative rally with personal testimonials and guest speakers including Dr Yau Ching of Lingnan University. Yau is the author of five books including “As Normal as Possible: Negotiating Sexuality and Gender in Mainland China and Hong Kong,” and is also an award-winning filmmaker, poet and media artist.

“Expectations for the original SlutWalk, organized by Heather Jarvis and Sonya Barnett in Toronto, were modest — they hoped for 200 supporters at the most — but they ended up with a crowd of more than 3,000. Some wore jeans and tees, “others in outfits more appropriate for a Victoria’s Secret fashion show: lingerie and stilettos,” wrote the Huffington Post.

““The idea that there is some aesthetic that attracts sexual assault or even keeps you safe from sexual assault is inaccurate, ineffective and even dangerous,” Jarvis told HuffPo. She recalled a sign at the march that read: “It was Christmas day. I was 14 and raped in a stairwell wearing snowshoes and layers. Did I deserve it too?”

“Indeed, at the nearly 80 SlutWalks around the globe to date, actual rape survivors have worn the clothes they had been assaulted in, “from pajamas to thigh-high boots, carrying signs that said, ‘This Is What I Was Wearing When I Was Raped,’” according a story in The Nation.

“SlutWalks have popped up in cities as diverse as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Dallas, London, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Cape Town, New Delhi and Mexico City.

“SlutWalk Hong Kong will be held the same day as SlutWalks in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangalore. People of all ages, ethnic backgrounds, sexual preferences and gender identities are welcome. And I’m going to try my personal best to be there, too. For additional information about SlutWalk Hong Kong, please go to slutwalkhongkong.wordpress.com/.”

It was so amazing to hang out at Pride with the most amazing bunch of people under the SlutWalk banner, including SlutWalk Singapore! Check out some photos by our super cool supporter, Dan Gar:

Here’s our team pic, by the awesome Becca!

SlutWalk Hong Kong march updated as of 25 Nov 2011!  Patterson St. Yee Wo St.

Don’t forget to attend the poster jam if possible!  We’d love to have you there!