Men wear heels in Bloomfield to raise awareness of sexual violence
Photo by Colin Flaherty
Pittsburgh’s second annual “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” gathered men, women and children to raise awareness for sexual violence that women face from men. Men who attended the event walked a mile in heels to show support.
October 11, 2016
Morning rain didn’t deter activists from marching in Pittsburgh’s second annual city-wide Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event on Saturday, Oct. 9 in Bloomfield.
Men wearing high heels and women’s flats were joined by about 20 others in their walk down Liberty Avenue, carrying signs and chanting slogans like “Men Need to Speak Out” in an effort to raise awareness about sexual violence.
“I want to see men in heels,” said Camille Goleb, chief organizer of Pittsburgh Walk a Mile. “Seeing someone take themselves so out of their comfort zone to support this cause really means a lot.”
Goleb said she began organizing the campaign after she moved to Pittsburgh and noticed that there were no city-wide Walk a Mile in Her Shoes events.
“The part of it being focused on men is men can do the most to prevent sexual assault and rape,” Goleb said. “It’s more helpful to start the conversation with men instead of telling women not to get raped.”
The marches are popular on college campuses, but this is only the second year that a city-wide event has occurred. Goleb claimed the march raised one thousand dollars last year, all of which went to Pittsburgh Action Against Rape (PAAR).
“PAAR offers comprehensive services for victims of rape and sexual assault,” Goleb said. People participating in the event were able to register for the march for $25, or teams of three could register for $60. Goleb said that around 15 people had pre-registered for the event.
Pittsburgh Walk a Mile held a short rally before the march in the farmer’s market lot in Bloomfield including two musical acts and food trucks. Three separate concerts were held at Bloomfield venues Howler’s and the Bloomfield Bridge Tavern, as well as an all ages party at Pittsburgh Heat Dance Company.
“This doesn’t have to be dark and dreary. We’re going to be partying all day,” Goleb said.
Curtis Botzer of Morningside played with his band, Stone Cold Killers, at Howler’s on Saturday night as part of the event. Botzer also participated in the march in the afternoon, and he participated last year as well.
“Everyone knows someone affected by it,” Botzer said. “Doing something like this lets people know they’re not alone and there’s support for them.”
The National Sexual Violence Resource Center reports that one in five women will be raped at some point in their lives, and 63 percent of sexual assaults are not reported to the police. On college campuses, more than 90 percent of sexual assault victims do not report the assault, and nearly one-fourth of college-aged women experience rape or sexual assault, according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network.
The march itself began at the farmer’s market lot and continued onto the sidewalk of Liberty Avenue in Bloomfield. Members of the Steel City Roller Derby team led the walk, directing marchers across the street.
Marchers held brightly colored signs with messages such as “My slutty dress does not mean yes” and “Men need to speak out”. One event organizer led the marchers in chants like “However we dress, wherever we go – yes means yes and no means no”.
One chant in particular alluded to the released tapes that contain Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump saying “You can do anything [to women]… Grab them by the p—y.”
Multiple marchers carried signs reading “Don’t grab my p—y,” and the crowd chanted a slogan referencing the tape multiple times.
Goleb said that Walk a Mile in Her Shoes carries no political affiliation, but will “continue to support anyone who can help women”.
Goleb emphasized the role that men play in eliminating sexual assault and rape in American society.
“It starts with [men],” Goleb said. “There’s something you can do.”
Emily • Nov 19, 2016 at 9:46 am
The irony of this has failed to escape me. In 2010 my best friend and I played for Steel City Roller Derby and at an out of town event she was sexually assaulted by another(female) team member. The league not only refused to take any action against her rapist, but that person was on the disciplinary committee and they worked hard to try and kick the victim out of the league. They bullied and ostracized her. Gas lighting was a favorite technique of theirs. Another league member had come forward to the police that the same woman had been sexually inappropriate to her, but after being cooperative with the police investigation, she suddenly made the A team and refused to cooperate any more with authorities.
They eventually kicked the victim out of the league (in direct opposition to their league’s bylaws, for which the victim later sued them and won) and the few of us brace enough to stand up against them took action via social media. The league retaliated by posting a nasty exposé calling the victim Skater X and denying her story. The judge in the court case forced them to remove it but they otherwise would have continued their rape denying and victim-blaming.
The fact that they could LEAD a walk against sexual assault when not one person from that group of people has bothered to make a public or private apology to a rape victim whose life they collectively DESTROYED for several years is disturbing to me. How can they possibly care about women and violence against them when they not only denied a rape victim but bullied and traumatized her for over a year afterward? It’s dispicable! And many of these women still fail to see how what they did was so wrong because they are mean and selfish people.
It’s easy to march in a parade. It’s hard to stand up to 60 bullies and side with a victim when the assaulter is a team captain on the board of directors. It’s easy to say you’re against rape but it’s hard to actually apologize to a victim that you antagonized through direct action or inaction. Shame on this organization!