Perth rally against sexual assault

November 23, 2013
Issue 
A Reclaim the Night march in Perth last month.

About 150 people walked through Perth on November 16 to call for an end to blaming victims of sexual assault, in the city's third annual SlutWalk.

Initiated in response to comments made by a Canadian police officer that women should avoid looking like sluts if they don't want to be raped, SlutWalk continues to attract global support.

Speakers decried the low conviction rate for offenders and the high rates of sexual assault, with one in three women and one in five men experiencing some kind of sexual assault, and higher rates in trans, bisexual and Aboriginal communities and among people with disability.

Rebecca Davies and Bec Leighton from People for Sex Workers' Rights called for measures to facilitate sex workers' safety, particularly decriminalisation of sex work and rejection of the "Swedish model" (to criminalise sex workers' clients), again being threatened for Western Australia.

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