Young-adult men strapped on pairs of heels and strutted around McGuire Hall on last Sunday in support of those who have lived experiences with domestic violence. For a brief seven minutes, students literally stepped into someone else’s shoes, accepting the invitation to reflect on the sexualization and stigmatization women walk with throughout their entire lives.
‘Walk a Mile in Her Shoes’ began as an award-winning international men’s march to end rape, sexual assault, and gender-based violence in 2001. Since then, the march has been adapted into smaller-scale walks that are replicated in communities and universities across the United States.
Student Government Association (SGA) Class of 27’ and the McAuley Women’s Center collaborated on this event to provide an opportunity for reflection, recognition, and increased awareness of domestic violence within Loyola’s community.
Showing up for the community was what brought 30 athletes from Loyola’s men’s club rugby team to the event. Head Coach Vicent Rapposelli shared that his players were the ones who brought the event to his attention. As someone who participated in Mount St. Mary’s University’s annual ‘Walk a Mile in Her Shoes’ event with his rugby team in college, Rapposelli recognizes the importance of the team’s presence at an event like this, especially as the team nears a milestone anniversary.
“To be around at the university for 50 straight years means that you [the rugby team] have that history, backing, and are part of the community. You support the community: not just Loyola, but the greater Baltimore area as well. That’s what we genuinely believe in,” Rapposelli said.
Junior Class President Tess Olbrish and the SGA Director of Student Support Ceci Oliver challenged the men to walk ten laps around McGuire Hall, the equivalent of a half-mile, in their heels. Afterwards, they were encouraged to write a reflective note to an important woman in their lives. The first group of young male participants were cheered on by female attendees and members of campus organizations as they strutted to songs about female empowerment.
Layla Retcho ‘29 and Rachel Tabeka ‘29 were two attendees of the event. The first-year Messina classmates said they decided to check out the event after seeing a whiteboard when leaving Boulder. Retcho and Tabeka shared that, as women, it was a somewhat funny experience to see men struggle to walk in heels. Overall, the friends were appreciative of the men’s effort.
“I honestly was just happy to be there because it felt nice seeing them try to do it in the first place. We were saying things like ‘yay, you guys can do it!’ as they were crossing the finish line. Towards the end you saw them running, and we were just kind of happy to see them even trying,” Retcho said.
Men’s club rugby player Jack Gallagher ’29 led the crowd and was the first of the group to cross the finish line. Gallagher described himself as ‘in the zone’ when asked about how quickly he managed to complete his ten laps. He shared that he was proud to support the cause alongside the rugby team and had in mind his loved ones who have experienced domestic abuse.
His teammate Ryan Turnamian ‘28 was part of the second group of students to complete the walk. Some decided to take the challenge to the next level and ran in their heels for a portion of the track. Even though he did not participate in the sprint, Turnamian reflected on how painful and difficult it was to simply walk in heels.
“It definitely was, you know, eye opening, my feet hurting immediately after putting them on. As a guy I can’t claim to know the full extent of the struggles women face, but I like to think an event like this helps us to at least take a peek behind the door,” Turnamian said.
Students not only had the ability to ‘peek behind the door’ but also to learn about campus resources that support students who may experience intimate partner violence. One Love Loyola, an organization that raises awareness about unhealthy relationships, Title IX and Bias Compliance, and the McAuley Women’s Center tabled at the event.
McAuley Women’s Center Director and Loyola’s Confidential Advocate Melissa Lees concluded the event by reminding students of the importance behind ‘Walk a Mile in her Shoes.’
Outside of her work at Loyola, Lees is also the Domestic Violence Advocate for the Centers for Hope DOVE Program at Northwest Hospital. She shared that those living in domestic violence situations often feel shameful and chose not to talk about their experiences. The advocate shared that events like these are helpful to deconstruct stereotypes and inform the community.
“We can talk about intimate partner violence, we can talk about healthy relationships, but if you’ve never lived through that, you might not understand. While this experience does not replicate a domestic violence situation in any way, shape, or form, it gives education to others about some of the experiences that people have,” Lees said.
Interested in learning more? Check out @mcauleywomenscenterloyola and @onelove.loyolamd on Instagram to learn more about related events this month to support Domestic Violence Awareness Month.