The Jerusalem SlutWalk demonstration, scheduled for Friday – an annual protest over violence against women, rape culture and victim blaming previously known as the “Sharmuta” (Slut) Walk – has changed its name to Mufkarot (meaning both “slut” and “abandoned” in Hebrew) Walk, adding further symbolism to the event’s efforts.
“The word ‘mufkarot’ highlights the treatment we get from the state: the victim blaming that we encounter from police; the ease with which violent men are released back to their homes to continue to harm women; authorities that release rapists and attackers – if they are punished at all; [and] the speed with which budgets to protect women are cut and stopped at any opportunity,” said SlutWalk Jerusalem.
SlutWalk is a global movement born in 2011 when a Canadian police officer said that women “should avoid dressing like sluts” if they did not want to be victims of sexual violence.
Participants in the demonstrations often dress in clothing some consider revealing, and event organizers emphasize that there is no dress code.Prior to last year’s “walk,” which took place virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Jerusalem branch announced that they were changing their name to the Mufkarot walk.
The name change was intended to make the demonstration more inclusive. Concerns over the name in Arabic included cultural appropriation and security concerns.
The name was therefore changed to encourage those who felt uncomfortable to join.
An interministerial plan to combat violence against women was approved by Israel’s government in July 2017 – designating a budget of NIS 250 million which would be distributed over five years – but the budget was never implemented in full, and the vast majority of the funds has still not been transferred.
When the plan was approved, no funding sources were set, because the 2017-2018 budget had already been approved, according to a June 2020 report by The Israel Women’s Network, Women Against Violence and the Altufula Center. The funding that was provided was given directly to the relevant ministries rather than through the Welfare Ministry, meaning there was no interministerial coordination as planned.
Finance Ministry officials said in November that despite being approved with no budget plans, funding will be set aside for it in the next government budget.
Law enforcement is also failing to protect women. According to government data, a third of women killed by their partners in 2018 and 2019 had previously filed police complaints against the men accused of killing them.
Violence against women spiked during the coronavirus pandemic, as lockdowns kept women trapped inside with their abusers, and the pandemic and ensuing regulations threw the country into crisis.
Violence toward women tends to worsen in times of pressure or crisis, stated a November 2020 Knesset report on violence against women.
Outreach to hotlines following incidents of violence between partners more than quadrupled during the pandemic (rising by 315%), and outreach regarding domestic violence more than doubled (rising 158%), according to the report.