Heartly House celebrated its eighth fundraiser walk October 7, the “Walk in Their Shoes” march, formerly known as the “Walk in Their Shoes” walk. This year, however, the event had a different approach.
Inga James, executive director of Heartly House, said “it started out as walk a mile in her shoes, where men would register and walk through Frederick in heels for about a mile. We started thinking about that, and thinking that not all abuse happens to women, and it doesn’t all happen by men, so we wanted to be more inclusive so we changed so that anybody could register, wear whatever shoes they wanted that perhaps reminded them of a victim or something that would honor a victim.”
Not only does Heartly House aim to bring awareness to crimes that happen to all people, the switch to a more inclusive walk also aimed to be more sensitive. According to a statement provided by Heartly House’s website, the organization was concerned that having men wear heels could be considered offensive by those with nonconforming sexual orientations and gender identities. In light of those concerns, the logo for the walk has been changed from a pair of red heels to red sneakers, and the pronoun “they” has replaced “her.”
Hundreds of people attended the walk this year, including men, women and children. Many walked in remembrance of those they had lost to domestic violence, while others walked to support the organization. Some men chose to continue the tradition of walking in heels, but many others wore various styles of red shoes.
The proceeds from the event went towards maintaining the many services of Heartly House, such as the 24-hour hotline, legal services, counseling, community outreach, abuse intervention groups, and emergency shelter. According to its website, “the mission of Heartly House is to end domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse, and to provide victims with safety, shelter, and supportive services.”
However, the walk is more of a visibility event than it is a fundraiser. Tamika Waters, a volunteer at the event, explained why events that shine light on domestic abuse are important.
“It’s kind of mute, it’s really uncomfortable, and nobody really wants to say that they’re going through what they’re going through,” she said. “But I believe that it’s going to flourish if people just start talking about it. I think people just need to know how many resources they can get at the Heartly House and I think that sometimes they don’t realize what’s available.”
As of a 2016, Heartly House reported that there were more than 7,000 calls made by individuals in need of support, as well as 315 people served by Heartly House’s legal resources. According to Heartly House, one in four women and one in fourteen men nationwide will be victims of intimate partner abuse. One in four girls, and one in six boys will be sexually assaulted by the time they are 18, and one in five women will be sexually assaulted in college.
“Ultimately, we should put ourselves out of business,” said Jill Schultz, a professor at FCC and a member of the Heartly House board of directors. “We should be put out of business because the world radically changes in its approach to the treatment of women.”
