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Reykjavik (Iceland) — Women in Iceland walked the streets of Reykjavik on Saturday during the annual Slut Walk to demand an end to attitudes that condone sexual violence and demand a judicial system that effectively deals with such crimes in the largest ever such gathering in the country.

Women’s issues have come to the forefront in Iceland this year as the country celebrates 100 years of women’s suffrage. On June 19, Icelanders flocked to the centre of Reykjavik and other town centres for events linked to the centenary of women winning the right to vote. Outside the parliament building, a statue was unveiled of Ingibjorg Bjarnason, the first woman to be elected as an MP in 1923.

The world’s first democratically elected female president, Vigdis Finnbogadottir – who served from 1980 to 1996 – spoke to the crowd from the parliament building. And a women’s choir sung the rousing political song “Afram Stelpur” (Onwards Women).

But in addition to the official activities, young Icelandic women have used social media networks to spark debate on issues such as sexual violence and pornification – the increasing acceptance and occurrence of sexual themes in mainstream culture.

This started with #FreeTheNipple, which began when 17-year-old high school student Adda Smaradottir decided to make a statement regarding an artistic picture of a woman’s breast that had been edited out of her school magazine.

“The feminist association at school called for Free the Nipple Day,” she said, in which girls were invited to go to school without wearing a bra.

“That was supposed to happen on March 26. But on March 24, I was a bit angry and irritated about not being able to behave and dress myself like a man. I posted a picture of myself [on Twitter] bare-breasted, which started the ball rolling,” explained Smaradottir.

“Some of the comments were vicious, but then more and more pictures appeared and the issue started to get attention,” Smaradottir said.

This social media campaign only lasted a few days in March, but the issue remained hotly discussed into April. Another one-day event was held in June, in which bare-breasted women sat on the grass outside the Althingi, Iceland’s parliament.

Meanwhile, a closed Facebook group called Beauty Tips began to take on the issue of sexual violence in Iceland.