Sexual Assault Archives

Hong Kong Slut Walk Draws Many In Effort To Rid City Of Sexual Assault

By Paulus Choy

HONG KONG- “Slut walk” was held for the fifth time at Chater Garden in Central this Sunday, with protesters expressing concerns over recent sexual assaults in Hong Kong.

This event originated from Toronto, where a police officer said women should dress less “slutty” to avoid sexual crimes, sparking outcries and subsequent protests, according to the Hong Kong Slut Walk’s website.

Protests turned into a global movement, with Slut Walks happening in several places including Germany, Korea and now Hong Kong.

America’s very controversial personality Amber Rose, also organised her own Slut Walk, which occurred on 1st October this year.

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The movement encouraged participants to dress in a provocative way, rebelling against social expectations and condemning gender violence on women.

Hong Kong’s Slut Walk organisers Sally Tang and Angie Ng discussed about gender violence before the march began, they talked about recent sexual assaults against women, they pleaded for societal and legal changes to better protect the rights of women.

They talked about a rape case involving an owner of a nursing home and a mentally-challenged girl, as the girl’s evidence was accepted by the Court, the owner was later acquitted.

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Another case they talked about was a pub owner who drugged a girl and allegedly raped her.

He was sentenced to 240 hours of community service, as the judge found him to have an entrepreneurial mind and does not wish to harm his future.

Different concern groups came forth to give speeches, including migrant worker association Gabriella, and several political party-affiliated groups.

The protesters convened at around two in Chater Garden at Central, and started marching towards the High Court, ending their demonstration at Lan Kuai Fong district, which was a famous bar and clubbing spot for Hong Kongers.

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Protesters shouted out pleads during their march, yelling out “my body my choice”,” my dress is not a yes.” and other slogans to express their concerns, which were also shown on their banners.

People of different races and nationalities came out to support: there was an Irish student, who talked about how women in Ireland is stripped of their rights to abortion; there was another student from the US, who came here to support the movement.

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There were speeches as well as live performances throughout the protest; a group of students performed a poem in front of the High Court, some even painted pleads on their bodies, to express their anger.

There were roughly around a hundred people marching through Central.

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Photo Credits: Paulus Choy

Yes, Porn Stars Can Be Raped Too

By Contributor

By Kelsey D’Auben

In late November, porn-actress Stoya accused her ex-boyfriend and fellow porn-actor James Deen, of rape via her twitter account.

She tweeted “That thing where you log in to the internet for a second and see people idolizing the guy who raped you as a feminist. That thing sucks” followed a few minutes later by a second tweet saying “James Deen held me down a fucked me while I said no, stop, used my safe word. I just can’t nod and smile when people bring him up anymore.”

That thing where you log in to the internet for a second and see people idolizing the guy who raped you as a feminist. That thing sucks.

— Stoya (@stoya) November 28, 2015

James Deen held me down and fucked me while I said no, stop, used my safeword. I just can’t nod and smile when people bring him up anymore.

— Stoya (@stoya) November 28, 2015

Since then, nine other women have come forward saying Deen had sexually assaulted them; one of whom is Farrah Abraham, former Teen Mom who co-starred with Deen in a pornographic video in 2013.

“Stoya knew that if she were to name one man who did, in fact, violate consent, then the entire industry would be assumed to be complicit.”

Once deemed “porn’s feminist sweetheart” Deen is now being called the “Bill Cosby of porn” and has recently been dropped by several major porn distributors.

Deen strongly denies the allegations and said in an interview with the Daily Beast that he was “completely baffled” by what the women were accusing him of.

In the time since her tweets were published, many women have rallied together in support of Stoya using the hashtag #soldarityforstoya.

Fellow porn-actress and co-founder of the pornsite TRENCHCOATx, Kayden Kross, had a personal essay published with Nylon Magazine titled “I am Stoya’s partner, and I stand with her.” In the essay she expressed her ultimate support of Stoya as a fellow porn-actress and woman.

She also shed light on the issues facing sex workers who are victims of sexual assault and abuse.

“Already our industry battles the constant din of claims that the women, simply by showing up to work, are victims,” Kross wrote in the Nylon Magazine piece. “Already we battle the claims that porn is rape, that consent is questionable, that no woman given a fair choice would engage in it. Stoya knew that if she were to name one man who did, in fact, violate consent, then the entire industry would be assumed to be complicit.”

These incidents have sparked a lot of conversation on the Internet asking many forms of the same question- “can a sex worker be raped?” The answer is quite obvious- yes.

Any person can be raped. Non-consensual sex of any kind is rape. We as a society have a hard enough of a time grasping this seemingly concept on it’s own. But when sexual workers fall victim to sexual violence, especially when their work is involved.

Take for instance a case in Philadelphia in 2007, which was also referenced in Kross’ essay.

A 20-year-old woman agreed to have sex with a man she met through Craigslist for $150.

When she went to meet the man, she was gang-raped at gunpoint by him and three other men. A judge later charged the men with “theft of services” because, according to the judge, “she consented (to only the first man) but didn’t get paid.”

Women working in sex need protection from instances such as these. Sex workers face many dangers on a day-to-day basis. Not only because of the dangerously unregulated line of work, but also because of the negative public perceptions of prostitution and pornography.

Cover Photo Credit: daniel sandoval/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)