SlutWalks are happening all over the world, and now, Michele Stander-Reimer is organizing a Milwaukee march for later this summer. The purpose of a SlutWalk is to raise awareness of sexual assault and stress the fact that a woman, no matter what she is wearing, does not deserved to be raped.
"Sexual assault is the most unreported violent crime in America," says Stander-Reimer. "And, when it is reported it is often not prosecuted, based on what a woman was wearing, what she had to drink, how many sexual partners she has had, in other words, subjective criteria which our society, and our legal system, use to label a woman a 'slut' and 'deserving.'"
During a SlutWalk, marchers – both men and women – sometimes dress provocatively to further stress their point. In the process, they are also reclaiming the word "slut" which, according to Stander-Reimer, often pits women again women.
"This term is used not only to demean women, but separate 'us' from 'them,' in whatever way that may seem appropriate. It makes women who have not experienced sexual assault feel safe, because it can't happen to them, it happens to those women over there, the deserving ones. This is factually incorrect, and continues a dangerous stereotype," says Stander-Reimer.
Last week, Stander-Reimer and Marquette University student Colleen Henry set up a Facebook page for the event which now has almost 1,000 "likers."
Stander-Reimer's husband, Daniel Reimer, is in the process of researching venue possibilities and talking with the city about permits. Soon, they will call for volunteers and speakers via the Facebook page to help spread the message.
"The reason that we blame women's clothing on her victimization is because we, as a society, think that her clothes, her sexiness, has something to do with it; that there are men out there who would normally be reserved but simply cannot contain themselves when they see a skimpy outfit. That thinking is not only factually incorrect and degrading towards women, it's unbelievably insulting to men," says Stander-Reimer.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
