There’s an old saying that “you’ll never understand a person until you walk a mile in their shoes.” Last Saturday, a large group of Cal Poly students put that idea to the test in the “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” campaign. The campus organization SAFER, Cal Poly’s main resource for sexual assault prevention, hosted the event as part of Sexual Assault Awareness month.
The “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” Campaign was founded in 2001 by Frank Baird, who wanted to create a “Men’s March to Stop Rape, Sexual Assault, and Gender Violence.” He asked men to literally walk a mile in women’s high heels to raise awareness and show their support of women’s issues. He realized sexual assault doesn’t just affect women, but also the men whose mothers, daughters and wives are assaulted. He believed men needed to take a stronger stance in the fight against sexual violence.
Since its beginning, “Walk a Mile” has become a national movement. Every year, more and more men across the country gather to put on their heels and raise millions of dollars for rape crisis centers. This year, SAFER decided to host the event at Cal Poly.
The group met downtown San Luis Obispo at Mission Plaza on Saturday morning. Men selected their heels from the many pairs people had donated. Then, they proceeded on their teetering march down the streets of San Luis Obispo. Freshman Donald Sun, a member of the Lambda Phi Epsilon fraternity, participated in the walk with his brothers.
“As a member of a fraternity, it’s important for us to spread awareness about rape and sexual violence and to show our support of women,” he said. “Our fraternity does our best to show up at these events and help out in any way we can.”
On walking a mile in a pair of bright red stilettos, he said, “I don’t know how you girls do it. But much respect to all of you!”
The “Walk a Mile” Campaign gives guys a small glimpse into the lives of women and helps them become more aware of our situations. While it’s incredibly entertaining to see them struggle through the walk, it gives them a heightened perspective of what it means to be a woman and helps us all unite as people fighting for one cause.