Men Walk a Mile in Women’s Shoes to Raise Awareness

| April 28, 2014

Photo by Greg Knox of Bright Ideas Learning Center & Photography.

FRANKLIN, Pa. (EYT) – Men walking a mile in high heels sounds a little silly, but in reality, it was for a good cause.

Yesterday in Franklin, nearly 70 men participated in “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes,” sponsored by PPC Violence Free Network.

Men literally walked one mile in women’s shoes at the event to raise awareness for sexual violence and to support those who have been victimized.

Event Organizer Kiyomi Knox. Photo by Greg Knox of Bright Ideas Learning Center and Photography.

The walk was created in 2001 by Frank Baird and has “become a world-wide movement with tens of thousands of men raising millions of dollars for local rape crisis centers, domestic violence shelters and other sexualized violence education, prevention and remediation programs,” according to the events website.

The main objective of the walk is to grab the community’s attention and open communication on the subject.

PPC’s Kiyomi Knox, an organizer of the event, said the event’s turnout exceeded her expectations.

“I was hoping for 50 and we probably had 70, which was exciting,” said Knox.

Registration began at 2:00 p.m. at Bandstand Park and the speakers started at 3:00 p.m., followed by the walk.

It started at the courthouse and looped around town one mile, ending at the courthouse.

“This event is extremely important,” said Knox.

Valerie Gatto, Miss Pennsylvania U.S.A. 2014. Photo by Greg Knox of Bright Ideas Learning Center and Photography.

Knox continued, “Like I said at the walk, one in four women and one in six men are assaulted. You have a chance of knowing someone, (who was assaulted) even at PPC (Prevent, Protect, Change Violence Free Network and Shelter) where we serve Venango County, and East Crawford, over the last year we have helped 244 victims and statistically around 60% of people never report their assault. ”

“It’s very important to get awareness up and start prevention.”

Yesterday’s walk featured speaker Valerie Gatto, Miss Pennsylvania U.S.A. 2014, a person brought into the world by her mother being assaulted.

One of her goals is to educate young women about protecting themselves and preventing sexual assault.

Also a speaker at the event was Venango County District Attorney Shawn White.

For more information on the event visit www.walkamileinhershoes.org, or if you or someone you know needs help, the 24-hour hotline number is 1-800-243-4944.

 


Photos captured by Greg Knox of Bright Ideas Learning Center and Photography. To view more photo’s from the walk visit, the Bright Ideas and Learning Center’s Facebook page.


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