'SlutWalk NYC' Draws Over 1,000 Demonstrators To Union Square
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Over 1,000 people took part in a march and rally in lower Manhattan Saturday to raise awareness about sexual and domestic violence.
Mari Morales-Williams says she knows first-hand that becoming a rape victim doesn't depend on what you're wearing.
Scantily clad or not, she says it can happen to anyone.
"The person who violated me was a person that I trusted, a person that I knew," she told CBS 2's Ann Mercogliano. "It wasn't any sluttish behavior that got me raped."
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Morales-Williams rallied with SlutWalk NYC demonstrators in Union Square, some dressed in only their undergarments, hoping to get that message across.
The march started in Union Square and headed down Broadway to 8th Street, 2nd Avenue to Third Street and then to Lafayette Avenue before heading back to Union Square.
The recent string of sexual assaults in Brooklyn and reports that police are asking women to avoid wearing skirts where the attacks occurred were also prevalent on their minds.
One of the latest attacks was on Sept. 25 when police say a 25-year-old woman was grabbed, punches and thrown to the ground by a man who then tried to rape her. She fought back and screamed until witnesses ran over, scaring off the suspect.
Police said as part of a pattern they are alerting the public that most of the victims were targeted at night and wore skirts or dresses, but they say they have no opinion on attire.
'They said you should not dress like sluts and we're taking that back," said one protestor.
"No matter how you dress, no matter what you do, you deserve not to be raped or sexually assaulted," said another protestor. "That the fault is never on the victim, the fault is never on the attacked."
SlutWalk began in Toronto, where a police officer reportedly told women not to dress scantily to protect themselves. The movement quickly spread across Canada and the U.S.
"I was 17. I was in my home wearing a sweatshirt. There was nothing I did to ask for it," marcher Mary Silloway told Mercogliano.
Activists, victims and family members like Morales-Williams' mother Heddi all marched together.
"Very hard, very hard, she's a survivor, she's strong," Morales said. "My pride is just, even though this happened to her she's still moving on."
For more information about Slut Walk NYC, visit slutwalknyc.com.
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