Men Don High Heels to Stop Gender Violence
The USC Women's Student Assembly hosted the first annual "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes" fundraiser Thursday, as part of an international movement to end rape, sexual assault and gender violence.
Dozens of men gathered in front of Tommy Trojan and made their way across campus in high heeled womens' shoes to raise awareness - and funds - for gender equality. Registration for the event was $10 per person and will go towards the YWCA of Greater Los Angeles.
"I'm going to be walking for about a mile down Trousdale in high heels," said Anshu Siripur, a freshman at USC, as he registered for the walk Thursday morning.
"Both men and female students here should be safe and have their rights protected when engaging with other members in the community."
Sophomore Kalan Lekas agreed, saying issues involving gender violence "are just pushed under the rug so many times, especially on college campuses where they happen the most often."
About fifty people walked and more than three hundred people donated to the cause, according to Kaya Masler, a member of the Women's Student Assembly who helped organize the event. Contributors had the option of choosing from different rewards including free condoms and "I <3 Female Orgasm" t-shirts.
"There's a huge problem on our campus because I think there's sort of a culture that facilitates a gray area with consent," said Masler.
She said women the focus of today's walk, but men were not forgotten by the Women's Student Assembly.
"We understand completely that there are male victims," said Masler.
"We're just kind of reprsenting one narrative nad doing it in a fun and sort of accesible way."
Mayoral candidate Wendy Greuel made an appearance at the event to voice her support for women's rights.
"Women have to step up as well as men," said Greuel.
"There are less than fifty percent of women who actually report the rapes that are occuring. One in three women are impacted by sexual assault. We have to, as elected leaders, say it's not right. We have to do something about it."
If elected in May, Greuel would be the first female mayor in Los Angeles history.
Victoms of gender violence also participated in the event to share their experiences with sexual assault and reiterate the importance of increasing dialogue about women's sexual health.
"I have been a survivor of sexual assault for 41 years," said Nancy Donoval.
"One in five college women will experience rape or attempted rape while they're in college. But the metaphor of it for me is so powerful. I felt so alone for so long. And it really was when I started telling friends and hearing from friends that oh they've gone through this too. That power of that seemed so important."
