With a lot of their events planned for September and October, we thought now would be the ideal time to introduce to you one of our awareness-raising partners—Walk A Mile in Her Shoes.
The mission of Walk A Mile in Her Shoes® is to co-create a united gender movement and involve men as part of the solution to ending sexualized violence. They do so by coordinating and publicising Walk a Mile in Her Shoes walks held around the world.
The first walk was proposed by Frank Baird in 2001. According the organisation’s Web site, the walk started small but has since grown. As the name of the walk implies, the events feature men walking one mile in women’s high-heeled shoes. The walks raise awareness of sexual violence and also raise funds for local rape crisis centres.
One of the main goals of the walks is to get people talking about sexualised violence. As the Walk a Mile in Her Shoes Web site says:
“It’s critical to open up communication about sexual violence. While hidden away, it’s immune to cure… Walk a Mile in Her Shoes® provides several opportunities to get people talking. For preventive education, it helps men better understand and appreciate women’s experiences, thus changing perspectives, helping improve gender relationships and decreasing the potential for violence. For healing, it informs the community that services are available for recovery. It demonstrates that men are willing and able to be courageous partners with women in making the world a safer place.”
To view events, check the organisation’s calendar of walks. There are walks scheduled for cities all over North America this fall. If there’s one near you, why not go out and support the guys!
You can learn more about Walk a Mile in Her Shoes by visiting their Web site or by following them on Facebook.