Walk A Mile in Her Shoes event in 2018. Photo/ Diesel Powered Images- Tammenithia Diesel / Walk A Mile In Her Shoes Grande Prairie- Facebook

By Courtney Almeida

Awareness Event

The 2019 Walk A Mile in Her Shoes campaign struts through the Swan City

May 30, 2019 | 7:00 AM

The fourth annual Walk A Mile in Her Shoes campaign put on by Pace takes place in Grande Prairie today. The event asks participants to walk a mile in high-heeled shoes to bring awareness to issues of sexual violence.

Pace is a community support, sexual assault and trauma centre. They are the only sexual assault support centre in the northwest region.

“We operate out of Grande Prairie and our main offices are here, but we do actually have satellite offices in Peace River, Valleyview, High Level, and High Prairie. We offer primarily therapeutic counselling and support services for people who have been impacted by sexual assault, sexual abuse and sexual violence,” says Buffy MacIntosh, Development Coordinator for Pace Fund.

The month of May is sexual violence awareness month in Alberta and today from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Pace is holding their biggest fundraiser of the year through the public awareness campaign.

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MacIntosh notes that Walk A Mile in Her Shoes is an event that started in the United States.

“It was initially, sort of like an art installation. The idea was really to literally walk a mile in someone else’s shoes to generate empathy around issues of gender-based violence. Now there are Walk A Mile in Her Shoes events all across the world.”

The event encourages men in the community to become allies in ending sexual violence. Men can register as individuals or as part of a team, but participation is welcomed by all members of the public who wish to support the cause and raise funds for Pace.

“It’s often kind of a difficult subject to have conversations around. The idea of the walk is to create a fun afternoon to have an event that’s family friendly, it helps us to break down some of the stigma and some of the shame that can happen when we’re talking about sexual violence,” said MacIntosh.

Those who don’t have high heel shoes available to use do have the option to rent a pair.

A barbecue has also been organized in the Pace office parking lot for a 7 p.m. start to conclude the event.

Pace offers public education, training, and several different support programs including psychoeducation. Funds raised from the event will support sexual violence treatment programs and create awareness. It will also be an opportunity to have some conversations around the importance of sexual violence prevention and support and treatment.

Learn more about Pace or support the fundraiser here.