Cobb, Kennesaw host ‘Walk a Mile in Her Shoes’ on Oct. 9

On Oct. 9, high-heeled shoes are requested to be worn by men during this event to raise awareness of domestic abuse and how to stop it. (Courtesy of Kennesaw)

On Oct. 9, high-heeled shoes are requested to be worn by men during this event to raise awareness of domestic abuse and how to stop it. (Courtesy of Kennesaw)

The Cobb County Domestic Violence Task Force, with the Kennesaw Public Safety Foundation and Kennesaw Police Department, will host their first annual “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” event on Oct. 9 at Swift-Cantrell Park, 3140 Old Highway 41, Kennesaw.

The march will take place at 9 a.m. until noon, with check-ins beginning at 7 a.m.

For this event, men are asked to walk one mile in women’s high-heeled shoes.

“The discomfort of walking a mile in heels will never measure up to the suffering domestic violence victims endure. However, it does create awareness and lets victims know their voices are heard,” said Kennesaw Chief of Police Bill Westenberger.

This event is a part of the International Men’s March to stop rape, sexual assault and gender violence.

Every day, 20 women per minute are abused by their partners in the United States.

In 2020, there were 95,839 crisis calls to Georgia’s certified family violence agencies.

In that same year, there were 136 known domestic violence-related fatalities in Georgia.

Participants can register online at walk-a-mile-cobb-county.eventbrite.com.

Sponsorship opportunities are available by contacting Kennesaw Police Lt. Joy Policarpio at jpolicarpio@kennesaw-ga.gov.

For those in need of nonemergency assistance with domestic violence-related issues, call 1-800-33HAVEN (Georgia) or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−SAFE(7233) or TTY 1−800−787−3224.

Register: bit.ly/3tKBFSv

Information: kennesaw-ga.gov/walk-a-mile-in-her-shoes, facebook.com/CobbCountyDVtaskforce