There’s power when the community comes together in support of vulnerable people, and that power will be on display when individuals, businesses, and organizations “Walk a Mile in Their Shoes” with YWCA Peterborough Haliburton on Friday, May 22.
Beginning at noon at Confederation Square across from Peterborough City Hall, the annual event will raise awareness about the epidemic of domestic violence in the community while raising funds for YWCA Peterborough Haliburton’s life-changing programming.
Registration is now open at www.walkamilepeterborough.com and priced at $50 or $25 for students.
Originally called Walk A Mile in Her Shoes before adopting a more inclusive name in 2024, the event has been held in Peterborough since 2009, taking inspiration from events held around the world since 2001.
Riffing off the idea of putting yourself in someone else’s shoes, the event originally challenged men to walk a mile while sporting red high heels to represent the societal expectations and the challenges faced by women.
“It was important because the reality of wearing high heels — which are uncomfortable, throw off women’s posture, and cause pain in the feet, the back, and the knees — also means that women can’t run away if they need to,” says YWCA Peterborough Haliburton executive director Kim Dolan.
“For men to experience that discomfort also really challenged some societal norms that women were supposed to still try to adhere to.”
While some men still choose to slip on red high heels, the event has evolved over the years and now sees more than 100 individuals coming out on their own or in teams to support women, children, and gender-diverse people recovering from violence.
The route is also accessible to accommodate those walking with mobility challenges as well as walkers and strollers. Friendly on-leash dogs are also welcome to join the walk..
Those wanting to take part can sign up as a solo walker or they can partner with friends, family members, or colleagues to raise money through sponsorships. Many local businesses use the event as a team-bonding exercise and to demonstrate their mission and values to the community.
However they choose to show up, those walking the mile are sending a message to survivors and those currently facing domestic violence: we are on your side.
“So many women are cut off from friends and family,” Dolan says of those experiencing domestic abuse. “Women who experience violence in those intimate spaces are also testing how other people respond to this person who abuses them, and asking themselves ‘Can I talk with anyone about that? Are they going to blame me because he blames me?'”
“Seeing strangers in a situation of support and empathy without a personal attachment gives women a bit of distance to process that support differently.”
Dolan adds that women coming together shares an important message that standing up against violence is important to them. They may have had their own experiences with domestic abuse as well.
“I think lots of us have our stories,” she says. “We also need to be challenging the imagined profile of a woman who experiences violence.”
Since relaunching the event in 2024 after a hiatus during the pandemic, Walk A Mile In Their Shoes has raised $32,281.36. This year’s goal is to raise $25,000.
The funds will go towards YWCA Peterborough Haliburton’s Journey of Care, described as a wrap-around support model that encompasses each of the signature programs and services.
The model ensures the women, children, and gender-diverse people they serve have not only a safe space to recover, but the additional support to stand on their own and walk a path free from fear and violence.
“When women are looking at making a change in their lives to move to living with autonomy, living with peace, and living with respect, there are so many things to take into consideration because it’s a huge change,” Dolan says.
“We know that change takes planning,” she adds, noting that Journey of Care captures the “practical to the emotional to the sustained support.”
“She’s getting support no matter where she is, so that she can stay the course that she’s set for herself with information, with access to resources, and with our really incredible, experienced staff.”
Dolan says the community’s support for Journey of Care is urgent given the number of women seeking the programming continues to rise.
“There’s been more public discourse about violence against women, how women are silenced, and how men who want to cover up the violence characterize feminism as being anti-male, which is not true,” Dolan explains.
“There’s a new tone and new messaging happening ib social media. Women are speaking out about the importance of supporting one another. Men are speaking out about the importance of listening to women, believing them, and speaking out when their male friends diminish or denigrate women. That shift in public discourse, in person and on social channels, has been profound.”
For Dolan, this shift is both “exciting” and feels like it’s at a “tipping point.”
“Hopefully this kind of event helps to add to those new conversations in a way that challenges the assumption that being a feminist means you don’t like men,” she says. “We all have brothers and sons and uncles and dads and husbands and partners — it’s not about that. It’s about behaviours that are rooted in misogyny and patriarchy and colonization. Let’s unpack that and start to make some changes.”
To register as a participant and create your personal funding page, or to sponsor someone with a donation, visit www.walkamilepeterborough.com.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be a media sponsor of Walk A Mile In Their Shoes.
