Just last week, I participated in Walk a Mile in Her Shoes: The International Men’s March to Stop Rape, Sexual Assault & Gender Violence. 

When I became aware of this high heel fundraiser, I immediately took two steps backwards and said: “There is no way I would walk around downtown Wilmington in high heels”. First, I have NO idea how to even go about buying woman’s heels and second, I have NO idea how to walk in them!

But, I am always up for a challenge, and the Rape Crisis Center is a great group to support. I figured that the worst case scenario would be falling and spraining my ankle or breaking my arm, but over time both would heal.  To prevent those disasters from happening, I had to walk most of the race with my head down, making sure every step was balanced and firmly planted on the ground.

When I first put on the heels, they actually felt comfortable for about 120 seconds. Then, nearing the 3-minute mark, my toes started to go numb and pain began creeping up my foot into my legs.

The hardest part of the race was walking downhill. When I finished (in 23 minutes), I was definitely relieved.  The best feeling of the day was taking off those shoes!  I am glad that I won’t have to wear heels again for another 365 days (unless I decide to bust them back out for Halloween)! I am really glad I decided to take to one step forward (not two steps backwards), and participate in a wonderful event that helps create awareness of domestic violence and rape.

There is an old saying: “You can’t really understand another person’s experience until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.” Walk a Mile in Her Shoes® asks men to literally walk one mile in women’s high-heeled shoes. It’s not easy walking in these shoes, but it’s fun and it gets the community to talk about something that’s really difficult to talk about: gender relations and sexual violence.

It helps men better understand and appreciate women’s experiences, thus changing perspectives, helping improve gender relationships and decreasing the potential for violence. For healing, it informs the community that services are available for recovery. It demonstrates that men are willing and able to be courageous partners with women in making the world a safer place.  To learn more about this important cause, click here.