News for 28 March 2012 was taken from Women’s Views on News.
Men of Western Kentucky University’s ‘Chi Omega’ fraternity house recently hosted a ‘Walk a Mile in Her Shoes’ event to raise awareness of violence against women.
Walking in red high heels, the men raised $1,000 for Hope Harbor, an organization that provides services for victims of sexual assault.
But they weren’t only interested in raising awareness of violence against women. The goal was also to achieve better communication about sexualized violence, a topic that men find hard to discuss.
They also want to help men understand and sympathise with women’s experiences, so they can change perspectives, improve gender relationships and decrease the potential for violence.
Statistics from the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network show that, in the US, a woman is raped every two minutes.
The ‘Walk a Mile in Her Shoes’ campaign is an international men’s march to stop rape, sexual assault and gender violence, described as “a playful opportunity for men to raise awareness in their community about the serious causes, effects and remediations to sexualized violence”.
The walks are billed as political and performance art with public, personal and existential messages, with no distinction between performer and audience.
The mission of Walk a Mile is to create a unique and powerful public experience that educates individuals and communities about the causes of sexual violence, and provides prevention and remediation strategies.
Related articles
- Men Step Out Against Rape and Domestic Violence (uncommontary.com)
- Frat Boys Walking in High Heels for Charity Is Quite a Sight to Behold [Charity] (jezebel.com)
- Campaign brings shocking scale of sexual violence to light (independent.co.uk)
