Men and women put on their red heels to “Walk A Mile In Her Shoes” in Regina Tuesday morning.
The YWCA held its third annual walk to raise awareness on gender based violence and harassment in the province as well as the Queen City. Studies show Saskatchewan has the highest reported rate of domestic violence and intimate partner homicide in Canada.
Regina YWCA CEO Melissa Coomber-Bendtsen says there were 270 people registered for this year’s walk.
And away they go. Regina is Walking A Mile In Her Shoes pic.twitter.com/KHJeFvqnZE
— Mackenzie Read (@read_mackenzie) September 10, 2019
Coomber-Bendtsen says it’s great to see that many people making the commitment to do something today, but they are asking people to carry that into the future and have those hard conversations. “And to face some of those hard realities about our statistics in Saskatchewan and the incidents of sexual assault in our city and take say it was difficult for me for one day, the conversations will be easier.”
She adds that having this many people registered for the walk which validates the feeling of those who experience violence and harassment. “It validates that those experiences are true, and real and they are not okay.”
“We ask people when they come to walk to talk a little bit about why they choose to walk,” says Coomber-Bendtsen. “I think that’s the message and the essence of this event.”
Regina Police Chief Evan Bray was one of the Champion Walkers participating this year. Bray says it is important to bring light to this topic and talk about the resources available.
He adds that RPS responds to upwards of 17 domestic conflict calls a day, with many involving violence and violence against women, “which is a high number.”
Bray did admit that within 15 minutes of wearing the heels, his feet were starting to hurt. “I think we have to remember that what we are going through here, for a very short period of time, is all to raise awareness so I’m fighting through this. I also have an all new respect for when my wife says is it okay if I wear flats tonight. the answer is 100 percent, we are dressing up tonight but you wear shoes that are comfortable.”
All the money raised at this year’s walk will go towards the programs at Regina YWCA that help women affected by violence.
