Marchers clicked down the Esplanade in heels during the annual Walk a Mile in Their Shoes event Tuesday night in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

Kent State has hosted the event for more than six years through the combined efforts of Sexual and Relationship Violence Support Services (SRVSS) and the Women’s Center.

Stephanie Orwick, SRVSS support service coordinator, said it’s a way for advocates to get involved and drive an important message: “It happens everywhere.”

“People know that sexual violence is happening in the country and across the world, but how many of us are talking about it at the dinner table?” Orwick said.

The purpose of the event is to unify a community and walk together in someone else’s shoes to increase awareness of sexual violence and the different ways to help end it. 

As participants walked from Risman Plaza to Franklin Hall, statistics pertaining to sexual violence posted on signs lined the route, such as “62 percent of sexual assaults are ‘drug-facilitated’ and 5 percent of victims were given date-rape drugs.”

Steven Antalvari, director for Academic Engagement and Degree Completion, said the discomfort that develops from the heels acts as a metaphor while reading the facts.

“As (people) are walking and as more uncomfortable the shoes become, they read those statistics posted along the route,” Antalvari said. “It gives them a moment to reflect and ask themselves, ‘What if I had to go through that, and if I do, what resources are available to me? What support system is available?’”

Junior Anthony Tutolo and sophomore Jacob Spino, members of Kent State’s wrestling team, said it’s important to show support within the community in order to bring awareness. 

“It’s important to realize how much damage (sexual violence) causes someone,” Spino, a philosophy major, said. “As we are walking through campus, people become interested and want to get involved. If we can get to 5-10 people, that’s 5-10 people we didn’t have involved.”

Tutolo, a communication studies major, said the topic hits close to home for the wrestling team since many of them know of loved ones who are affected by it.

“I think it’s important because it’s such an issue that needs to be talked about more and some people just ignore it or don’t want to talk about it,” Tutolo said. “If we can do things to stop it and make people more aware, we can do so much more.”

Walk a Mile in Their Shoes is one of many events the university will be hosting throughout the month.

The SRVSS and the LGBTQ Student Center will host a performance of “The Laramie Project” on Thursday and Friday in Oscar Ritchie Hall. The event is free and is based on a 1988 murder of a University of Wyoming student who came out as gay.

Feminist Friday, an event centered around discussing the aspects of feminism and what it means, will be at Williamson House Friday at noon. 

More events are listed on the SRVSS website. 

“It’s important that we let people know that we are here to help them, no matter what they need,” Orwick said.

Lydia Taylor is an assigning editor, contact her at [email protected].