Brandon Swanson usually wears loafers when he works as assistant director of alumni and parent relations at Saint Xavier University.
But last week, the 22-year-old Oak Lawn man carefully strutted a mile in red high heels around the campus at 3700 W. 103rd St. in Chicago.
Swanson joined more than 30 other men for the second annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes march, an event to draw attention to Sexual Assault Awareness month.
“This is a very fun, yet impactful event,” Swanson said. “The event is aimed at raising awareness about rape, sexual assault, and gender violence. This is something I think is extremely important. Too much of this violence goes on every day and there are people who are affected by this horrible injustice every day. And unfortunately, many women are too afraid to speak up. We want them all to know that they have a support system and to let them know they have someone to turn to.”
Anna Goldman, the event’s coordinator and a senior psychology major at the school, said she wanted the march to help the campus highlight gender relations and sexual violence against women.
“The goal of this event is to educate men and women about the prevalence of sexual violence on college campuses,” said Goldman, 22, of Eagan, Minn. “While we asked men to walk in high-heeled shoes to achieve the effect of literally putting themselves in women’s shoes, all were invited to walk and to join the conversation about sexual assault and violence. Not many people can digest difficult topics of discussion, but with Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, it allows for people to find a community, in a playful manner, to talk about the effects and solutions of sexualized violence against women.”
Some shoes came from donations and the Saint Xavier Council. Goldman said she also bought some shoes from a shoe store on Amazon that sells red high-heels that are intended for wide-set and large feet.
“I’m was honored to participate in this event because of the message behind it,” Brian Bartelment, 26, of Midlothian and a web marketing specialist at the school. “It is quite a sight to see my co-workers in high-heels as we walk around campus, which I was confident I could do, but this is more about the fact that we do not support any kind of violence against women or anyone for that matter; it is not OK to put blame on anyone for violent acts besides those who have committed them, plain and simple.”
As the participants neared the end of the mile-walk, a group of women and other supporters clapped and congratulated the participants. Most men, then, immediately took off their heels.
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“I appreciate the opportunity to take a few minutes to think about the toll of sexualized violence in our society,” said John Pelrine, vice president of student affairs at the university. “The walk is fun, but more importantly it helps start a much needed conversation in our community about how all of us can help prevent sexual violence in the future.”
Kelly White is a freelance reporter at the Daily Southtown.