Gentlemen, it’s time to slip on a pair of women’s high-heeled shoes and take a stance against sexualized violence. The University of North Texas at Dallas (UNT Dallas) will host a “Walk A Mile In Her Shoes®” event Wednesday, Oct. 23, from 10 a.m.- noon on the university campus (located in southern Dallas at 7300 University Hills Blvd., Dallas, TX 75241). The public is invited to participate or attend the free event. Registration is not required.

Since 2001, men, women and families around the world have joined the award-winning “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes®: The International Men’s March to Stop Rape, Sexual Assault & Gender Violence” to raise awareness about the serious causes, effects and remediations to men’s sexualized violence.

UNT Dallas is joining forces with community partners to host the event, which will involve men walking a mile around the campus (starting in front of the UNT Dallas Student Center) in high-heeled shoes provided by UNT Dallas Counseling & Wellness Center. Participants are encouraged to bring their own heels if preferred, which can be donated afterwards to Hope’s Door New Beginnings, a local agency in Dallas dedicated to eradicating domestic violence and supporting survivors and their children.

UNT Dallas hosts the annual event in the fall in recognition of October’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month. To help increase awareness, the university will offer an open Q&A session on domestic violence statistics and the dynamics of abuse, and provide university and community resources from partner organizations, including Hopes Door New Beginning, Genesis Women’s Shelter & Support, The Family Place, UNT Dallas Office of University Community Standards and more. UNT Dallas expects dozens of students, faculty and staff, and local men to tackle the 5,280-foot challenge, including UNT Dallas Interim President Warren Von Eschenbach and Interim Provost, Christopher Markwood.

“According to a recent report by the Texas Council on Family Violence, there were 14 domestic violence-related homicides in DFW in 2023, and over 200 across the State of Texas. Additionally, the National Domestic Violence hotline reported that every minute 24 people experience some form of gender-based violence by a partner,” said Teresa Espino Parnell, Director of the UNT Dallas Counseling & Wellness Center. “Based on this data alone, we must commit to spreading awareness about domestic/intimate partner violence in our communities and providing victims with life-saving resources such as the Dallas Area Rape Crisis Center and Genesis Women’s Shelter. By participating in and bringing ‘Walk A Mile in Her Shoes’ to our campus, we are doing our part in this crucial and life-saving effort.”

She added that the “UNT Dallas community includes many students facing domestic violence in their own homes, and, based on the current national statistics, there are many others surviving in silence. We have a responsibility to our fellow Trailblazers to get involved and save lives.”

Sexualized violence is any act of physical or psychological violence targeting sexuality or gender and used to undermine a person's sexual or gender integrity. Anyone can fall victim to sexualized violence regardless of gender identity. The target of sexualized violence can be a female body, the body of someone presenting as female or femme, or a male-bodied or male-presenting person insufficiently performing masculinity.

For more information about the organization, go to WalkAMileInHerShoes.org. If you have questions regarding the UNT Dallas event, please contact Teresa Espino Parnell at Teresa.Espino@untdallas.edu or 972-338-1816.

About UNT Dallas
The University of North Texas at Dallas (UNT Dallas) is one of the most diverse public universities in the metroplex, the only public, four-year university in the city of Dallas and the most affordable four-year university in Dallas-Fort Worth. UNT Dallas includes the UNT Dallas College of Law (accredited by the American Bar Association) in downtown Dallas and is part of the University of North Texas System. For more information, visit untdallas.edu.