A few weeks ago you may have noticed a group of men walking around the quad wearing high heels. No, the C-Street drag show did not come to campus for the day. This event was Walk A Mile In Her Shoes, an event to raise awareness about sexual assault.
One American is sexually assaulted every two minutes. This startling fact, from the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, shows just how prevalent sex-related crimes are in our country. April is Sexual Assault and Awareness Month (SAAM), and Walk A Mile is held every year to coincide with this campaign.
Leanna Barcelona, Vice President of Risk Management for Panhellenic Council and one of the coordinators for the event, explained why men prancing around in peep-toed pumps helps raise awareness for this issue.
“Men can wear high heels to the event to identify with female victims,” Barcelona explained. “Women also march with the men to create unity against sexual assault.”
In past years, the event consisted of men completing one lap around the main quad in heels, and then all other spectators joining them for another lap to symbolize a unified front against sexual assault. While this was a moving strategy, Barcelona and the other planners of Walk A Mile decided to make some changes to this year’s event.
“This year we decided to make it more inclusive and make it a march against sexual assault, in general, and stand with all survivors of sexual violence,” Barcelona said. “While women are statistically affected more, not all sexual assault is reported, and it is important to acknowledge that sexual assault can happen to anyone.”
To accomplish this, the education portion of the event included speakers who addressed sexual assault and all victims, not just women. The inclusion of transgender attendees was also a new, positive change that was made to the event this year.
Hundreds of students flooded the quad to not only watch men suffer through the pain we endure on a typical night out, but also to show their support to victims of sexual violence. Becky Bradshaw, a junior at UIUC, thought the event was very encouraging.
“Walk a Mile is so reassuring to see how much support this campus has for education about sexual abuse,” Bradshaw. said “Especially all the guys in heels — that’s commitment!”
Since SAAM began in 2001, colleges all over the country have been holding events like Walk A Mile to raise awareness for this issue. SAAM has partnered with the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC), which provides resources to state coalitions to help them develop programs and campaigns to accompany SAAM.
“It was so cool seeing all those guys come out to support such a great cause,” Abby Ohrnstein, a freshman at UIUC, said. “Some of those guys could walk better in heels than I can!”
Attracting spectators to the event by dressing men up in a girl’s most beloved/hated accessory is definitely a genius marketing strategy. However, sexual assault is no laughing matter, and Barcelona hopes everyone left the event with that in mind.
“Overall, I think people should know that this event isn’t a joke or something funny,” Barcelona said. “Sexual assault should be taken seriously, and this event is meant to make our community stronger to combat sexual violence as a whole.”