First 'SlutWalk' at UConn Draws Sizable Crowd (Video)

Many who marched in the first SlutWalk at the Friday afternoon did so because someone they know - a friend or family member - has been sexually assaulted.

They carried signs, chanted slogans like “two, four, six, eight end the violence end the hate” and “We will not be ashamed, sexual violence must be named” and walked a lap around the northern end of campus to bring attention to the misconception that sexual assault victims provoke their attackers by flirting or wearing revealing clothing.

Many of the young men and women who congregated on Fairfield Way were themselves victims who had only revealed the horrific experience to a few trusted friends or family members.

According to statistics listed on the UConn Women’s Center Web site:

• One fifth of college women experience forced sex by someone they know. (Ms. Magazine/National Institutes of Health Study)
• More than 80% of all rapes are acquaintance rapes. (U.S. Justice Department)
• The majority of acquaintance rapes are committed against women between the ages of 15 and 24. (U.S. Justice Department)
• 90 percent of all rape survivors are women. (F.B.I.)

At UConn there were three verified sexual assaults in 2007, down from 11 verified (and five unverified) on the campus in 2003, according to information printed in The Daily Campus and submitted by the university police department, respectively.

At Friday's event, representatives from various university organizations, including the women’s center and the Violence Against Women Prevention Program, spoke about the injustice of blaming a victim for an attack.

The original SlutWalk happened in early April when a Toronto police officer, during a crime prevention forum, said that “women should avoid dressing like sluts” to help prevent sexual assault.

That one comment inspired a movement that has spread to six continents.

“We wanted to talk about slut blaming and slut shaming,” Heather Jarvis, co-founder of the original walk, said to the group of more than 100 gathered on the Storrs campus. “This learning curve never ends.”

Colleen Westendorf, who also helped organize the first walk and took part in the UConn event, said that safety tips like those offered by the Toronto police officer lack a sense of perspective that contributes to victim shaming, and that everyone from police officers to college students need to understand that how women dress or act has nothing to do with being attacked.

“Even people who do all the right things still get raped,” Westendorf said. “It is a mistake to make the jump between actions that are sexually provocative and actions that encourage rape.”

On Friday, the most compelling testimonies came when two of the UConn event organizers shared their stories of being sexually assaulted.

Kylie Angell said she was attacked on campus one year ago. Her story ended with an unfortunate twist: her attacker was expelled from UConn and then allowed back after an appeal.

Angell said she will never forget the feeling of dread that gripped her when, as she was eating in a campus dining hall, her attacker approached her table.

But Angell said that even more discouraging to her than the university's decision to readmit her attacker was a conversation she had with a UConn police officer, during which she alleges that the officer said, “Women have to just stop spreading their legs ... or else rape is going to keep on happening 'til the cows come home."

Angell described that moment as “the deepest stab to my heart.”

A representative from the UConn Police Department could not be reached for comment Friday or Saturday.

"I hope one day society will unflinchingly hold its members accountable for their actions," Angell said. "It is time that society remove the Scarlet Letter placed upon victims, and instead put the blame on the only people at fault: the perpetrators."