On April 22, a plethora of on-campus organizations, including Alpha Chi Omega, Lambda Chi Alpha, Sigma Psi Zeta, the Title IX Office and more, worked together to host the Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event to raise money and awareness for sex and gender biases, gender identity and relations and men’s sexualized violence. The money raised from the event went to benefit the Delaware County Victim Assistance Center.
The Delaware County Victim Assistance Center was founded in 1974, with the mission to “provide comprehensive direct services to any victim of rape, other sexual assault and other serious crimes, and to significant persons in the victim’s life,” according to its website.
“We are thrilled to be here on the campus of Villanova, but most importantly that Villanova has partnered with our organization to bring awareness to the campus, and to choose us as a recipient of the funds,” Assistant Executive Director of the Delaware County Victim Assistance Center Candice Lineham said.
The Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event is a nation-wide campaign to encourage men to learn more about sexual violence, and to physically represent the metaphor of someone asking a person to imagine walking a mile in those women’s shoes.
“We have hosted this event prior to this year, the last time being in 2018, and before that at least one or two years before, largely in partnership with the Office of Health Promotion,” Villanova’s Title IX Coordinator Ryan Rost said. “In the last couple of years, we have had organizations who have expressed interest in hosting this event again, as well as some of our representatives from public safety who had taken part in the walk before, so that prompted us to get the ball rolling. The purpose of the event is to help raise awareness about sexual assault.
For student organizations on campus, especially those with ties to the philanthropic aspect of the event, felt called to help put on this walk.
“We decided to become involved with this event because it supports our philanthropy which is violence against women, so we are doing this to promote sexual assault awareness month,” sophomore and Sigma Psi Zeta member Avani Miller said. “I hope people become aware that there are women out there that face violence. Literally walking in women’s shoes is more of a hands-on way to feel how women feel, so I think this is a great way to advocate for equality and safety.”
“It is Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, while we acknowledge that sexual violence does affect people of all genders and gender identities,” Rost said. “Statistically speaking, individuals who identify as female experience sexual violence at very high rates and typically the higher percentage of the people who inflict that harm are male identifying. The national organization does ask that if you host this event, that you stay true to the Walk a Mile in Her Shoes and the focus is to try to encourage men, but not only men, to walk a mile in red high heel shoes, which we provide, and walk in solidarity and raise money and awareness, and overall understand a little bit more about what it is like in a sense to be in women’s shoes.”
The Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event is just one of the many ways in which Villanova has shown support and helped spread awareness regarding sexual assault and violence this month. While April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, every day should bring awareness to this cause, which affects to many people every day. To learn more about the resources and events being hosted on campus regarding sexual assault awareness one can visit the Title IX Office’s Webpage.
