In order to draw attention to the issues surrounding domestic abuse, male students put on a pair of their finest heels and walked a mile to support the cause at the annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event.
According to the Walk a Mile in Her Shoes website, Frank Baird founded the Walk in 2001.
“Violence against women does not just affect women,” Baird said, according to the website.
“Men are hurt and angered when women they care about are raped. Men are hurt and angered when they try to develop relationships with women in an atmosphere of fear and mistrust and blame,” Baird said.
He continued, “The same violence that targets women also targets men because rape isn’t about sex, it’s about power, control and violence.”
Junior and member of the Phi Sigma Sigma sorority, Melinda Noel, stated that Forrest Seymour, who is a counselor at the Keene State College counseling center, brought Walk a Mile to KSC.
“The event is a one-mile walk down Main Street to raise money and spread awareness about sexual violence,” she explained.
She continued, “The event is open to everyone and men are encouraged to wear high heels to show their support for women who have experienced sexual violence. Walkers also carry signs.”
“Walk a Mile helps spread awareness of sexual violence and raise money for the Monadnock Center for Violence Prevention in a fun, memorable way,” Noel added.
The Monadnock Center for Violence Prevention has a crisis hot-line, offers crisis intervention and peer counseling and provides support for victims of domestic and sexual violence, according to their website.
The Walk a Mile website also further explains the event by saying, “For preventive education, it helps men better
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understand and appreciate women’s experiences, thus changing perspectives, helping improve gender relationships and decreasing the potential for violence.”
Phi Sigma Sigma sorority sister Ivette Garcia added, “I really hope that students take the time to learn the facts about sexual abuse and violence.” She continued, “It happens everywhere and with raised awareness we can be on our way to stopping it for good.”
Both Noel and Garcia stated that Phi Sigma Sigma takes part in Walk a Mile every year.
“Walk a Mile is an event that happens every year and Phi Sigma Sigma not only participates, but helps raise money for them,” she explained.
“Many of the sisters volunteer their time and some work at the Monadnock Center for Violence Prevention,” Garcia stated. Noel added that most of Greek life participates in Walk a Mile.
“It varies every year but there is always at least one Greek organization there participating,” Noel stated.
Senior and member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, Jeremiah Miller, stated that the Walk a Mile event was born out of a need to bring awareness and support to the issues surrounding domestic abuse and the efforts to prevent it.
“It is all about bringing people together to make a statement against abuse,” he said.
“The purpose of this event is to educate people on the dangers of domestic violence and to encourage people to take a stand against it,” Miller stated.
Junior and Alpha Sigma Phi member, Skylar Beddie, added that in addition to raising awareness for domestic violence, the overall goal of the event is to make a difference.
“The event is a march to end domestic abuse and sexual abuse for women and show how women are powerful individuals and we can come together and walk that mile,” Beddie stated. For students who attend the event, Beddie stated that he hopes they get to be the ones who have a voice when they take that walk to start helping end these issues that we see.
“The purpose of this event is to spread the word about women’s rights and to end the way they are targeted,” she explained.
“It is also to show that we are all equal,” Beddie stated.
Noel added, “I hope that they are more aware of sexual assault and violence and that they know it is an issue that needs to be addressed and fixed in society.”
Anyone who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking are encouraged to contact the KSC Counseling Center or the Monadnock Center for Violence Prevention.
According to the Monadnock Center for Violence Prevention website, “Everyone in the community deserves to feel safe and needs to play a role in preventing violence.”
Brogan Wessell can be contacted at bwessell@kscequinox.com
