Walk a Mile in Her Shoes
The Men's March to Stop Rape, Sexual Assault & Gender Violence
Put Yourself in Her Shoes
Each year, an ever-increasing number of men, women and their families are joining Walk a Mile in Her ShoesŪ: The International Men's March to Stop Rape, Sexual Assault & Gender Violence. Walk a Mile in Her ShoesŪ is a fun opportunity for men to educate the community about a very serious subject and to rally the community to take action to prevent sexualized violence.
First You Walk the Walk
There is an old saying: "You can't really understand another person's experience until you've walked a mile in their shoes." Walk a Mile in Her ShoesŪ asks men to literally walk one mile in women's high-heeled shoes. It's not easy walking in these shoes, but it's fun and it gets the community to talk about something that's really difficult to talk about: gender relations and sexual violence. We are proud that SVSU administration is walking the walk.
Then You Talk the Talk
It's critical to open up communication about sexual violence. While hidden away, it's immune too cure. Unfortunately, it's difficult to get people talking. People unfamiliar with it often don't even want to know it exists. It's ugly. People that have experienced it themselves want to forget about it. How do you get them talking now, so they can prevent it from happening? And after it's happened, how do you get them to talk about it so they can recover?
Walk a Mile in Her ShoesŪ 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
Sexualized Violence is Not Just a Women's Issue
Sexualized violence does not just affect women. It affects the men who care about them, their families, their friends, their coworkers, and their communities. Sexualized violence is epidemic. Some of the statistics: Every 90 seconds a woman is raped in America. One in six American women are victims of sexual assault.That means someone you know, someone you care about, has been or may become the victim of sexual violence. It may be your mother, your sister, your friend, your girlfriend, your wife, your coworker, or your daughter.
3rd Annual Walk at SVSU - April 1, 2009
Saginaw Valley State University will be the site of the 2009 Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event. The last event took place in April of 2008 and raised more than $5,500. This time around, SVSU is collaborating with the following community organizations:
- Saginaw Sexual Assault Center
- Underground Railroad
- Bay Area Women's Center
- Midland Shelterhouse
The goal is to raise awareness and dollars that will support Sexual Assault prevention, education and services in the tri-county area. You won't want to miss this opportunity to make a difference!
