Men walk against domestic violence

Photo By Sgt. Joshua Edwards | U.S. Army Sgt. 1st. Class Robert Ybarra with the Non-Commissioned Officer Academy poses with his son Aiden for a photo before walking a mile in red high heels to promote the fight against violence towards women Sept. 22, 2012 at Rose Barracks. The event was hosted by Army Community Service.  

GRAFENWOEHR, BY, GERMANY

09.28.2012

Story by Spc. Joshua Edwards 

2d Cavalry Regiment

ROSE BARRACKS, Germany – Walking one mile might seem easy, but walking a mile in high heels might be a little harder. Walk a Mile in Her Shoes was hosted by the Grafenwoehr Army Community Service at Rose Barracks Sept. 22.

Men who participated in the event wore high heel shoes and walked one mile. The event was an international men’s march against violence towards women and gave the community a chance to come together and take a stand against domestic abuse.

Those who attended the event were motivated about showing their support for such an uncommon way of increasing awareness about violence. The Army Substance Abuse Program also helped with putting on the event to show how substance abuse can also contribute to domestic violence.

“I love that so many people came out to support something like this, especially because it’s so out of the box and some people would probably never consider putting on high heel shoes to support the cause,” said Carolyn Bryant, an ACS family advocacy program specialist. “To see the amount of people and the level of motivation that they have shows me people really do care about making a change. I want to emphasize the collaboration with ASAP because a lot of incidents involve alcohol, so we thought it was important for them to be here and be a part of this.”

The event created more awareness of domestic violence and helped encourage the willingness to help do something about it.

“I think those who participated in the event, being more aware these types of things are happening in our community, would be more inclined to step in,” said Sgt. Maj. Robin Bolmer, the operations sergeant major with Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 2nd Cavalry Regiment. “The leadership that was out there demonstrated to me that people are aware and they are willing to do what they can to help to negate it.”

The purpose of the men wearing high heels was to give them a small understanding to that of a victim of domestic violence. The event was also meant to make a change within the community and among service members and their families.

“We wanted to emphasize that the way people feel when they put the shoes on might invoke similar feelings that victims have like the pain, the embarrassment, the shame and what people would think of you,” said Bryant.

“The awareness we are promoting through this event is really meant to engender a change in behavior within our units and our culture amongst individuals and amongst leaders,” said Lt. Col. John Strange, Commander of U.S. Army Garrison Hohenfels.
Strange was happy about the amount of people who came to support the cause. However, he talked about his concern that people might forget the lesson learned during the event. The shoes were a temporary lesson.

“I saw a lot of teams and a lot of units out here which was really neat, I was really impressed with the community and unit participation,” said Strange. “The risk associated with this is not only that you would twist your ankle or suffer some kind of damage to your feet, but also that we might forget once we leave here or we might miss the educational opportunity. I can take the shoes off, victims of sexual assault or domestic abuse can’t.”

• Date Taken: 09.28.2012
• Date Posted: 09.28.2012 04:29
• Story ID: 95433
• Location: GRAFENWOEHR, BY, DE