[WATCH] Men tackle high-heeled challenge to raise sexual assault awareness at MTSU

When a woman wearing high heels is being pursued by a potential assailant, the limitations of her footwear could give him an edge that many men don’t understand. That’s the message behind “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes.”

MTSU again hosted the sexual assault awareness activity, which literally puts men in women’s shoes, on Tuesday, April 17, on the sundeck of the Campus Recreation Center. The mile-long walk on campus began at 5:30 p.m. on the sundeck.

Barbara Scales

“It’s a program to help men lead the cause … it’s everybody’s responsibility to end sexual assault,” said Barbara Scales, director of the June Anderson Center for Women and Nontraditional Students, which sponsored the event along with the Intrafraternity Council and Fraternity and Sorority Life.

Scales said the point of such awareness programs is to encourage students to become advocates for sexual assault prevention and to use their influence on social media and within their social circles to bring about needed change.

Jacob Harrell, president of the MTSU Intrafraternity Council, said he’s attended conferences with other university Greek organizations and has come to appreciate MTSU’s focus on sexual assault prevention through activities such as the walk and the recent “What Were You Wearing?” exhibit. April is National Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

“I think MTSU has done a better job than any campus I’ve ever been to as far as sexual assault awareness,” Harrell said. “There are a lot of campuses that are doing things right, but MTSU is ahead of the curve.”

“Walk a Mile” is billed as “the international men’s march to stop rape, assault and gender violence,” according to www.walkamileinhershoes.org. Men are required to walk one mile in women’s high-heeled shoes as a light-hearted way to spark a conversation about men’s sexualized violence against women.