All kinds of feet in all kinds of shoes will gather April 23 in downtown Greensburg’s St. Clair Park for Westmoreland County’s 11th annual Walk a Mile in Their Her His Our Shoes, an event that raises awareness of gender-based violence.

Participation shows a commitment to ending violence against people of all genders, not just women and girls, said Ann Emmerling, executive director of the Greensburg-based Blackburn Center, which hosts the walk. The event brings attention to the social norms and attitudes that perpetuate gender-based violence, including sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking.

Formerly called Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, the event was rebranded in 2021 to reflect the universality of intimate partner violence.

The Blackburn Center recognizes issues such as domestic and sexual violence can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender or gender identity, race, sexual orientation, religion, disability or economic status. It offers support to all victims and survivors.

“When we think about the work we do with the victims of sexual and domestic violence, we consider that to be gender-based violence. It’s still predominantly women who are victims of this kind of violence, but it isn’t only women,” Emmerling said. “We want to make sure we see this as gender-based, because there is something about this violence that is certainly not random, that is connected to gender, but it doesn’t just happen to women.”

While most of the center’s clients are women, she said, there has been an increase in members of different populations seeking help.

“I don’t know if I’d call it a significant increase at this point, but we’ve definitely seen an increase,” Emmerling said. “We’ve always provided service to anybody who needs it, including men or somebody who’s transgender. We want to make sure people know that.

“We’ve done a lot of work to make sure we provide a welcoming environment for whoever it is and to meet people in their experience.”

Many of the male walkers choose to wear high heels as an extra step in understanding what women experience every day. Walking in heels symbolizes the difficulties and challenges women face, including being on guard for possible sexual assault, experiencing sexual harassment, dealing with the aftermath of violence in the home and, for some, healing following an assault.

Red heels or high-tops

Men walking in heels are asked to do so in the spirit of the walk.

“Wearing high heels is not meant to mock women who wear high heels, glorify masculinity or make a statement that only women can or should wear high heels,” a release said. “Blackburn Center strongly affirms the right of all people to express their gender in whatever way they choose.”

The center has “hundreds of pairs” of red high heels available to borrow, Emmerling said, noting most are in larger sizes.

In the early years of the walk, the center sourced larger-size heels from local thrift stores. They later purchased many pairs from a company in California that made sturdy, high-heeled shoes specifically for awareness walks such as this one.

There also will be a sportier shoe-borrowing option.

“In the third or fourth year that we did the walk, we actually went out and bought some red high-top tennis shoes because it was the lacrosse team at Seton Hill, I think, who wanted to participate,” Emmerling said. “It was in the middle of their season, and their coach was afraid they might turn their ankles and not be able to play.

“We said, ‘Wait, we can do something about this.’ So we have a limited number of the red high-tops, too.”

On-site event registration will begin at 9 a.m., with the walk beginning at 10 a.m. People who cannot make it to the park but still want to participate can walk in a location of their choosing and share the experience on social media at #WALKBLACKBURN.

To register and to learn more about services provided by the Blackburn Center, call 724-837-9540, ext 144, or visit blackburncenter.org. Registration fee is $5 per person, or free for children under 12.

Walkers interested in borrowing a pair of heels are encouraged to register by April 1 to ensure proper sizes are available. Walk-on registrants are welcome on the morning of the walk, although shoe availability is not guaranteed. Pets on leashes also are welcome at the event.

The center also has a 24-hour hotline available at 888-832-2272.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)