Walk a Mile extends to week filled with activities, events.
Walking in heels on Athens’ bricks isn’t always easy.
It’s especially not easy for those who identify as male and rarely (if ever) wear stilettos.
But this coming weekend, dozens of men are expected to convene for the annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event to show support for sexual assault survivors. About 70 men participated and walked along Court Street last year.
The event’s organizers hope to offer resources throughout this week to raise awareness of sexual violence and a male’s role in bystander intervention.
“This year I’m placing more emphasis on education so that people are empowered not only to be part of the solution on this one day of the year, but that they also come away with some tools for how they can be part of the solution the other 364 as well,” said Bill Arnold, graduate assistant for bystander intervention and prevention education.
This is the seventh year the event has taken place at Ohio University, but it’s the first time for this type of education week.
“This (week) is kind of deepening your knowledge about the engagement of men and about the ways that masculinity as a social construct fosters a climate that isn’t always hospitable to women,” said Susanne Dietzel, director of OU’s Women’s Center.
The week will feature a variety of different events including documentary showings, panel discussions and a presentation by FORCE, a group that aims to do away with rape culture.
A panel discussion on Tuesday will address masculinity.
“By hearing about how masculinity is constructed … it functions to de-naturalize masculinity and challenge the notion that guys are ‘just a certain way,’ ” Arnold said.
Walk a Mile week will help provide more context for the march on Saturday, said Sarah Jenkins, program coordinator for the Women’s and LGBT Centers.
“We really don’t want men to put on women’s shoes and laugh about it and go home at the end of the day and not really know why they did that,” Jenkins said. “It’s really about violence against women and how that violence is systemic, and we want to make sure that people are coming away with some education on that.”
The march falls on OU’s Dads Weekend, something that’s happened in previous years. Dietzel said this can provide an opportunity for fathers to take a stand and strut for their daughters.
“I think it gives fathers an opportunity to participate proactively in the movement,” Dietzel said. “Sometimes with the signs (on off-campus houses) that we have up very often during times of (Welcome Weekend) that wasn’t always something fathers wanted to see, so this is something really positive for them to see and participate in.”
@EMILYMBAMFORTH
EB104010@ohio.edu
@REB_BARNES
rb605712@ohio.edu
