Editor:
Walk a Mile in Her Shoes (April 9 in the mall) was for men to raise awareness about rape, sexual assault and gender violence by walking around in women’s shoes. To raise consciousness about the majority of cases of assault and violence though, perhaps women should Walk a Mile in His Shoes.
From reports that I’ve read, men may be victims of sexual assault and rape as often as women. This is certainly true in the U.S. prison population. Another report indicates that men in the military suffer sexual abuse and rape more often than women in the military.
While any casualty is too many, there are many other causes of death that claim more lives than sexual violence. Suicide claims about 30,000 lives each year, and about 65 percent of them are male. Workplace fatalities claim more than 4,000 lives each year, and 93 percent are male. More than 15,000 people are murdered each year, and 86 percent of them are male.
While men can help raise awareness of women’s fatalities by walking a mile in her shoes in April, can women return the favor by walking a mile in his shoes (orange prison sneakers, combat boots, steel-toed work shoes, or a toe-tag) in May?
Don Mathis
International Student Services