Pictures: Women protest sexual violence

Hundreds of women swapped business suits for short skirts and revealing tops on Saturday as Washington joined the list of cities around the world that have hosted a SlutWalk - a march calling for an end to sexual violence and victim blaming. --PHOTO: AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Hundreds of women swapped business suits for short skirts and revealing tops on Saturday as Washington joined the list of cities around the world that have hosted a SlutWalk - a march calling for an end to sexual violence and victim blaming.

A crowd made up mainly of women, which SlutWalk organiser Samantha Wright estimated at around 2,000-strong, marched from the White House to the Washington Monument brandishing signs with messages reading 'This is what I was wearing when I was raped', and, 'Rape pre-dates the miniskirt'.

Twenty-three-month-old Virginia Warder sat in her stroller playing with a hot-pink feather boa and eating peaches. A sign on the stroller read 'My body is mine' and the toddler's T-shirt was emblazoned with the words 'My mommy is a slut'. 'I would never want her to be blamed if she were sexually assaulted,' Virginia's mother Theresia Warder, who was the victim of sexual violence as a teen, told AFP.

'People said it was my fault when I was sexually assaulted. This SlutWalk and all the others are about women saying to men that we can't prevent our own sexual assault by dressing one way or another; only the people who assault us can prevent it.'

A woman holds a sign during the DC Slutwalk against sexual violence in Washington on August 13, 2011. Participants were protesting against explaining or excusing rape by referring to any aspect of a woman's appearance. The rallies, now taking place all over the world, began when a Toronto police officer, suggested that to remain safe,

A man takes part in the DC Slutwalk against sexual violence in Washington on August 13, 2011. Participants were protesting against explaining or excusing rape by referring to any aspect of a woman's appearance. The rallies, now taking place all over the world, began when a Toronto police officer, suggested that to remain safe,

A woman takes part in the DC Slutwalk against sexual violence in Washington on August 13, 2011. Participants were protesting against explaining or excusing rape by referring to any aspect of a woman's appearance. The rallies, now taking place all over the world, began when a Toronto police officer, suggested that to remain safe,

Three young women pose as they take part in the DC Slutwalk against sexual violence in Washington on August 13, 2011. Participants were protesting against explaining or excusing rape by referring to any aspect of a woman's appearance. The rallies, now taking place all over the world, began when a Toronto police officer, suggested that to remain safe,

A woman takes part in the DC Slutwalk against sexual violence in Washington on August 13, 2011. Participants were protesting against explaining or excusing rape by referring to any aspect of a woman's appearance. The rallies, now taking place all over the world, began when a Toronto police officer, suggested that to remain safe,

A woman takes part in the DC Slutwalk against sexual violence in Washington on August 13, 2011. Participants were protesting against explaining or excusing rape by referring to any aspect of a woman's appearance. The rallies, now taking place all over the world, began when a Toronto police officer, suggested that to remain safe,