• Listen to this segment

• Listen to the entire program

The Activist Beat with Rose Aguilar, host of Your Call on KALW in San Francisco is a weekly roundup of progressive activism that the mainstream media ignores, undercovers, or misrepresents.

Back in January, Michael Sanguinetti, a Toronto police officer, made a shocking statement in front of 10 students at a York University safety forum. He said, “I’ve been told I’m not supposed to say this, however, women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized.”

As you can imagine, students and faculty were outraged. The student newspaper reported on the comments, women’s groups issued condemnations, and a debate

The cop apologized saying women who are sexually assaulted are “not victims by choice,” but the damage had already been done.

Word spread like wildfire online and the SlutWalk was born. Little did the cop know, his comment would spark a worldwide movement of SlutWalkers. In April, the first SlutWalk rally took place in Toronto.

Organizers write: “We are tired of speeches filled with lip service and the apologies that accompany them. What we want is meaningful dialogue and we are doing something about it: WE ARE COMING TOGETHER.

We are asking you to join us for SlutWalk, to make a unified statement about sexual assault and victims’ rights and to demand respect for all. Whether a fellow slut or simply an ally, you don’t have to wear your sexual proclivities on your sleeve, we just ask that you come.”

They expected about 100 people to show up. They were shocked to see almost 3,000 in the streets. One woman’s sign said: “It was Christmas Day. I was 14 and raped in a stairwell wearing snowshoes and layers. Did I deserve it too?”

Since then, SlutWalks have taken place in almost every state in the US and in several countries, including Costa Rica, South Africa, the UK, and the Netherlands. SlutWalk Morocco, a Facebook page created to raise awareness about sexual harassment in Morocco, has attracted 3,000 members in just 15 days.

This past Saturday, SlutWalks took place in 70 cities nationwide, including Las Vegas and Brattleboro, Vermont. The tag line to most of these events is: Because We Have Had Enough.

These marches have received extensive media coverage at the local level. Most pieces mention our culture of victim blaming and include interviews with women who’ve been sexually assaulted and harassed, but they fail to state the obvious. Our society is rife with violence against women.

Every two minutes, someone in the US is sexually assaulted. According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, one out of every six women in the US has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime.

Equal Rights Advocates, a nonprofit legal organization that fights for women, says its advice and counseling hotline is ringing off the hook with calls about sexual harassment and rape. They’re receiving calls from girls as young as 11 who don’t know where to turn. The trend they’re seeing is a rise in violence against young women.

The organization is tackling this issue by doing more work in schools and building bridges between the younger and older generations. Like so many non-profits, they’re struggling to stay afloat, and yet their work is so crucial. ERA is the legal organization that represented the women who sued Wal-Mart for sexual discrimination. In addition to tackling issues our society would rather ignore, they are preparing to file class action lawsuits against Wal-Mart at the state levels. You can find more information about their crucial work at equalrights.org.

And here are a few other actions you should know about:

This Saturday, September 17, marks the US Day of Rage, an action called by the anti-consumerist magazine AdBusters. Major rallies are scheduled to take place in Austin, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle. The New York City action calls for a Wall Street occupation. Organizers hope 20,000 people show up.

Solidarity demonstration will take place around the world, from Barcelona, Spain to Vienna, Austria. Find the event in your area at usdayofrage.org.

More than 23,000 registered nurses at 34 Northern and Central California hospitals are planning to hold a one-day strike on Thursday, September 22, to raise awareness about budget cuts to patient care and health benefits. On September 1, nurses held 60 rallies in 20 states calling for a Wall Street speculation tax, which could raise $175 billion a year. That action got very little media coverage. Find out how you can spread the word and support the strike at nationanursesunited.org.

Rose Aguilar for Uprising