The Haven’s House for Battered Women are more than ever determined to try a first of its kind initiative to highlight the effects of domestic violence against women. The idea is to get men to walk in their shoes, in this case, high heels. The idea is to get them to experience the abuse some women endure. The walk has been planned for Saturday November twenty eight. Today 7News caught up with two of the organizers and they told us “Waak Eena Fi Shee Shooz” as it’s called is only a symbolic gesture of and a recognition on the participants part that ending the violence is not just a woman’s issue. The question is, are you willing to take up the challenge in the fight against domestic violence against women?
Lisa Green, Board Member – Haven House
“We are asking men to come out. We normally try to champion the cause on our own to end violence against women and it is normally a woman thing but we realize that if we don’t ask the men to be a part of it that we wouldn’t accomplish as much as we would want to accomplish because some of the men are part of the cause. So that is the reason we are asking them to come out on that day and to walk in her shoes and feel how she feels when she is being battered, when she’s being beaten up, when the shoe pinches their feet and they say this is what she’s going through and that is just a mild portion of what they actually go through but it is something that we are saying can you come out and show the cause that I want to end the violence against women.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
“I know it will be quite a challenge because I am a woman, I do not wear high heels, I don’t like to wear high heels, maybe it is because the nature of my job, but I think it will be even more challenging for these men because the streets are in horrible conditions, I can’t even imagine them walking on these streets.”
Sharmaine Saunders,
“Well one of the things that we are urging is just put on a shoe that has some sort of femininity in it. It could be very low heel flat with a bow or a ribbon or a flower or sunflower or something that really is feminist. Around the world it has been done and in truth they do wear high heels but of course they have different types of streets and walking environment. And like Lisa mentioned, it is just for the symbolism of it. The theme for this year, because every year we select a theme, the Women’s Department and other stakeholders have selected a theme and it says ‘together we can end violence’ and the we is the symbolism here. The ‘we’ means everybody, men women and children.”
According to the organizers the walk will be held to also raise funds to assist and support women who are victims of violence. Each participant is asked to make a donation of ten dollars.
