Toes were cramped in the ends of pointy shoes and there was plenty of wobbly walking in high heels Thursday when men and boys turned out during the fifth-annual “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” event on Main Street in Bradford.
The annual walk, sponsored by the YWCA Bradford, is also conducted internationally to stop rape, sexual assault and gender violence through an event that has participants march in women’s shoes. The march not only increases awareness and starts conversations about sexual assault, but also raises funds through donations and pledges collected by participants. The funds are then given to the YW’s Victims’ Resource Center.
Vanessa Castano, executive director of the YW, said she was pleased with the turnout and entertainment by the Studio B dancers, despite weather that threatened rain.
“This is mostly an awareness event, but there are funds raised, definitely,” Castano said of funds raised from pledges.
During her comments to the crowd, Castano provided sobering statistics on sexual assault.
“One in five women in their lifetimes will be the victim of sexual assault or sexual abuse,” she shared. “And one in 33 men will be victims. We know these numbers are under-reported, so imagine how prevalent it really is when you take into account all of those people who never come forward.”
She further noted that one in four girls and one in six boys will experience sexual assault before they reach the age of 18.
“This is astonishing and these numbers need to come down,” she said. “We need to take this issue into account in everything we do — how we speak and how we communicate with each other.”
Those who attended the event included Rev. Rob Klouw, co-pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Bradford. Klouw was found wearing women’s sandals as well as a church stole around his neck. Accompanying him were a couple of his sons, Blake and Garrit, as well as a church member with his sons.
“One of the reasons I’m wearing this stole is the church has missed opportunities from being complicit and being silent” on the issue, Klouw explained. “I think one of places we will do better, not just as the church but as parents, is to have real conversations with boys that no means no.”
Young men who participated in the event included Joshua Zelinski, a University of Pittsburgh at Bradford student, who was seen trying to push his foot in a woman’s boot that was a tad too small. When asked if the boots fit, Zelinski laughed and said they didn’t.
“I kind of blew out the back of the boots,” he admitted while looking at the ripped seams.
“I’m going to walk in them anyway,” Zelinski said, adding he wanted to participate to help the YW and give back to the community.
Another Pitt-Bradford student, Wyatt Rugar, said he didn’t think there would be shoes large enough to fit his size 13 foot, but he planned to walk and contribute to the fundraiser anyway.
“It’s just a really good awareness event, to help women who have been abused,” Rugar said.
Meagan Welsh said she and other volleyball players from Pitt-Bradford showed up to support women in need of help at the YW and as a show of support for the Pitt-Bradford men who planned to march.
“There are a lot of campus sports events where we made announcements for people to come” to the walk, Welsh said.
