While LeRoy Winkel was searching for a seat Thursday at Ed Heisler’s anti-violence presentation, someone said to him, “Anywhere you want LeRoy, you’re the one wearing heels.”
While it isn’t a habit for the banker to be wearing four-inch stilettos, last week was different. He was among those showing support for the community’s second annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes — The International Mens March to Stop Rape, Gender Violence and Sexual Assault.
The event, sponsored by Friends Against Abuse, is a way to bring awareness to the issue that men, and women, have a responsibility to seek essential resources to stop themselves from engaging in acts of violence.
LeeAnn Meer, director of Friends Against Abuse and coordinator for the event, said she was pleased with the overall event itself, but disappointed with the turnout.
“After last year, we expected attendance to almost double,” she explained.
Despite the number of faces in the crowd, a message was still exposed to the community about the severity of violence against women.
Heisler, a representative of the Minnesota Men’s Action Network — an alliance to prevent sexual and domestic violence, emphasized the importance for society to contribute to change.
“At some point in their lives, one in four women are physically or sexually assaulted by a husband or boyfriend,” he said.
Heisler explained at one time, he considered himself lucky that the women in his life didn’t fall into the category of this statistic — or so he thought.
“Low and behold, women in my family and in my group of friends started coming out of the woodwork admitting that they had been abused in some way. The statistics really started to pop out at me,” he said.
He continued that violence against women is happening so often it is considered “normal.”
“That is frightening,” he said. “This is a time for men to step up and take some responsibility for changing the way reality is.”
Meer said that Heisler’s words were very powerful for those who have been or are victims to some sort of violence.
“The movement of engaging men to take a stand against violence is growing and making a difference,” she said. “We just need to get at it.”
Following Heisler’s presentation, the group of all ages took their first step towards “getting at it.” They grabbed colorful signs overflowing with facts and statistics, and paraded down Third Street behind a group of bagpipers from Fort Frances to spread the message of ending violence.
“People were really looking and reading (the signs),” Meer said of those stopped in traffic as the group crossed the street. “There is still something happening even if people are sitting in their car. I’m hoping community members got educated on some of the statistics.”
While the event’s target audience is men, women joined in on the march, and many found the walk more comfortable than a select few of their male counterparts.
A number of men, like Winkel, put their masculinity aside and took walking a mile in her shoes to a literal level. Slipping on bright red high heels, pink crocs, and bedazzled flip flops, they proudly trotted the one-mile walk in their new found footwear to demonstrate that they are willing and able to be bold partners with women in making the community and world a better place.
Meer applauded their efforts. “It amazed me that some of those guys walked the whole way in those shoes. I know their feet were hurting, but they did it. Good for them.”
She continued that seeing men get so involved proves that a message is sinking in and change could happen. When swept under the rug, sexual and domestic violence is immune to cure. Meer feels that communication, although difficult for some, of the issue is needed for transition to a more peaceful society.
“It is imperative we all involved,” she stressed. “Education awareness is the precursor to any change.”
A calendar of posed photos of groups wearing the red high heels and action shots of the walk will be on sale in October for the 2012 year.
For more informationon the event or how to play a role in the end of domestic and sexual violence, visit www.walkamileinhershoes.org or www.menaspeacemakers.org.
