Around the Hindsman Tower quad they walked in red high heels on the afternoon of Monday, March 4, a hearty group of men from Arkansas Tech University who came out in near freezing temperatures to show their support for ending violence against women.
The 2019 Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event was led by the ATU Interfraternity Council (IFC).
“I wanted the fraternities to show support during Women’s Week and have a voice,” said Preston Wilson of Little Rock, IFC president at ATU. “These red flags have a deeper meaning. Not only do they represent the relationship red flags to watch out for such as coercion and emotional abuse. Each one of these flags also represents an individual who will be sexually assaulted between the time they are freshmen until they are seniors. If you look around, you will see an unacceptable statistic represented with these red flags. That’s why it’s important to have events such as this one so that we can raise awareness and begin taking steps to combat this problem.”
Other organizations represented at Monday’s event included the Ozark Rape Crisis Center, ATU Department of Public Safety, ACASA (Arkansas Coalition Against Sexual Assault), ATU Student Activities Board and the River Valley Shelter for Battered Women and Children.
Frank Baird, a licensed therapist and counselor from California, created Walk a Mile in Her Shoes in 2001.
“What started out as a small group of men daring to totter around a park has grown to become a worldwide 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,” reads a portion of the Walk a Mile in Her Shoes national website.
Learn more about Walk a Mile in Her Shoes.
