The Slutwalk movement began in Toronto in 2011, after a police officer suggested to women that they should “avoid dressing like sluts” as a precaution against sexual assault. The comment, seen as symptomatic of a wider tendency of victim-blaming, provoked a backlash against the propagation of “rape culture”, resulting in the first of a series of Slutwalk protest marches that have since grown into a widespread global movement. The event, now spread over multiple countries with the goal of reclaiming the term.
Most SlutWalks begin with a march, ending with a range of speeches from sexual assault survivors, sex workers, and members of anti-rape organisations. In several cases, the march is either preceded or followed by a range of events including consent workshops, flashmobs, film screenings, poetry readings, and more. The aim of the march is to be empowered and to have power over the word "slut", and hence the celebration involves self-sexualization and sexual slogans. This year, one of the many marches in US, will be led by Amber Rose, a former sex worker and a victim of domestic violence. Despite the cause, the movement continues to remain controversial, even within some parts of the feminist movement.