The Slutwalk London team are making a film to change attitudes about sexual assault, counter victim-blaming and provide legal and practical advice for rape survivors. The current ‘advice’ given to women by the police and teachers focuses on our behaviour: not to go out by ourselves, get drunk or wear ‘slutty’ clothes. We are looking for people who have experienced sexual assault to come on camera to talk about the blame they experienced, whether from the police, people close to them or from themselves - and how they have overcome and fought against it. Not only will this force people to change their views about who is to blame for rape, but it will inspire others who have been silenced and victimised.

If you are a survivor of sexual assault, or if you have challenged victim blaming in any way - for example, by speaking up against victim blaming by your friends, teachers or the police - we would like to hear from you and will try our best to include you in the film. Please don’t hesitate to contact us; everyone’s voices are welcome and we would like to include as many different experiences as possible.

Are you interested? The next step…
Please contact us at [email protected] to talk about participating. This will help us see how we can include you in the film. We can give you more information about the film, and arrange a time and date for filming.

More information…
You will not have to reveal your name, age or any other personal details. The interviews will take around 10 minutes; if you feel uncomfortable at any point we will stop filming and there is no pressure on you to say anything you don’t want to say. We will need you to write down a few basic points of what you’re going to say beforehand, and to travel to a location in London to be filmed (if this is very difficult for you we could help with travel costs or travel to where you live instead). If you are uncomfortable being on camera there are ways in which we can make you anonymous, such as filming you from behind or as a silhouette.

Are you from an organisation?
We are also planning to include legal and practical advice in the film. This will include basic pointers on what victims can do after an attack to feel safer, advice on going to the police and on taking a case to court. If you are from an organisation (including student organisations) which supports victims of sexual assault, whether you provide counselling, crisis help or legal advice, please contact us and we will do our best to include your experience and advice in the film.

We are making this film together with Women Against Rape, Black Women’s Rape Action Project and the English Collective of Prostitutes.

Friday 20th January, 10.30am-12.30pm, The Houses of Parliament (Old Palace Yard, Abingdon Street, SW1P 3JY) - Map here, nearest tube Westminster. Facebook invite here

On 20 January 2012, Nadine Dorries’ proposed amendment to sex education, Bill 185, which suggests GIRLS be taught abstinence, is due to get a second reading in parliament. Slut Means Speak Up will be speaking at this planned protest against the bill, together with Women Against Rape and Black Women’s Rape Action Project, who were involved in organising SlutWalk last June.

We will be at this protest because we know that abstinence-only sex education will be incredibly harmful to rape survivors. We know that the girls being taught to ‘just say no’ in school will become the women being accused of not saying ‘no’ loudly enough when they were raped. We know that the girls taught that sex must remain an unspoken subject will become the rape survivors who are too ashamed to share their experiences and find healing. We know that the girls being taught that there is no such thing as consensual sex will become the women who are unable to recognise, report and fight against rape.

UPDATE 20/01 - The bill has been withdrawn! Thank you so much to everyone who came to the protest.