The Martlet

If you’re downtown on Saturday, May 15, and suddenly find yourself surrounded by men in high heels, rest assured it’s not the bar crowd on their mid-afternoon walk of shame — it’s Victoria’s fourth-annual Walk A Mile In Her Shoes event.

The men participating in the event will each don a pair of heels and engage in a painful mile-long trek starting and ending in Centennial Square. Proceeds from the walk go toward the Victoria Women’s Sexual Assault Centre (VWSAC).

The event takes a playful approach to the serious topic of sexual assault and gender violence as a way of getting Victoria talking about this issue and rallying community support.

“Sexualized violence is a difficult subject for people to talk about,” said VWSAC Resource Development Manager Tracy Lubick. “As a community, we need to open up the channels of communication. We need to challenge societal expectations and gender stereotypes that can create an environment that perpetuates and can lead to sexualized violence.”

Because sexual assault is such a stigmatized topic of discussion, many people may not realize how extensively it affects the women we know. According to the 1993 Violence Against Women Survey by Statistics Canada, one in three women will experience sexual assault in her lifetime. More recently, the Statistics Canada’s report “Sexual Assault in Canada: 2004 and 2007,” estimated that there were about 512, 000 incidents of sexual assault in 2004. The same report estimated that approximately one in 10 incidents of sexual assault is reported to police.

“I have heard from men who have signed on to walk in the past simply to ‘support a good cause’ and then have been very surprised when several women in their lives have shared with them their own stories as survivors of sexualized violence,” said Lubick. “I think it’s been eye-opening for many.” University students are at the greatest statistical risk of experiencing sexualized violence because of their typical age range. They also risk greater impact from such an experience, as it can be made more profound on those undergoing university lifestyle transitions, such as going to a new school or changing peer groups.

“That particular age group is incredibly vulnerable in terms of what they are exposed to, and experience,” said Lubick. “But the campus environment also offers an opportunity to educate and learn. The Anti-Violence Project (AVP) at UVic is an incredible on-campus resource. We work quite closely with them and are proud to be partners with their organization.”

This year, AVP is sponsoring a new Kid’s Zone tent which will have age-appropriate activities for children.

The first Walk A Mile In Her Shoes event was organized in 2001 in Los Angeles, and has since spread to become a successful world-wide phenomenon. In its inaugural year in Victoria, over 200 people showed up for the event, raising $15,000 for the VWSAC. This year, the overall fundraising goal for the event is $20,000.

“Victoria has really embraced this event. Many men have now walked in it every year and are passionate about showing their support,” said Lubick. Walk A Mile In Her Shoes starts in Centennial Square, and runs from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. To find out more about the event, call VWSAC at (250) 383-5545 or visit vwsac.com.