Men will have their chance to put on red high heels and “walk a mile in her shoes” to raise money and awareness for domestic violence prevention.
Laura Sundy is the communication coordinator for YWCA Muskoka which is an organization pushing for positive change for women and girls through education, leadership and advocacy. The group is running the Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event in Bracebridge Sunday.
“Women in rural communities are more vulnerable to the risks and impacts of domestic violence,” Sundy said. “It’s important that all men in our community become engaged in the dialogue and solutions around violence prevention.”
Sundy added there aren’t are a lot of numbers locally about domestic abuse and it is something she thinks needs to change. She said there needs to be a gender-based lens applied to the statistics gathered around Muskoka.
According to Sundy, there is an increase in teenagers being abused in relationships in the area. All the proceeds will go directly to programming at the YWCA for boys and girls to address some of the root causes of domestic violence.
“It gives them a safe place to talk about things like conflict resolution, bullying, how to communicate properly and how to build healthy relationships,” Sundy said. “Just ways to help prevent violence down the road.”
She added the event is still wide open and they are looking for more teams to join. Sundy said any businesses or sports teams are encouraged to come out and wear their jerseys or uniforms.
“I do want to say that despite the serious nature of the event, it is really fun and light-hearted,” Sundy said. “Men literally put on high heels and walk a mile.”
The walk starts at 11am at the Rotary Club in Bracebridge. Sundy said they are still looking for volunteers to help out as well.