Georgia Southern hosts Walk A Mile in Her Shoes®, Tim Mousseau to raise awareness of sexual and dating violence

March 24, 2016

Georgia Southern University will host several events March 28-31 including Walk A Mile in Her Shoes®, guest speaker Tim Mousseau and the Red Flag Campaign to educate students and raise awareness of sexual and dating violence.

The Walk A Mile in Her Shoes® event, set for 5 p.m. on March 31 at the Russell Union Rotunda, is an international march that invites men to literally walk a mile in women’s high-heeled shoes while raising funds and awareness about gender violence, including sexual assault and domestic violence. This is the fourth year Georgia Southern has hosted the event, which drew more than 300 participants last year and raised more than $3,200 for the Statesboro Regional Sexual Assault Center (SRSAC).

While walk participation is free, donations from faculty and staff are suggested. All proceeds are donated SRSAC, where free assistance is offered to victims of sexual assault. SRSAC is one of only two sexual assault centers in all of southeast Georgia and has taken cases from up to 10 counties in the region.

Georgia Southern’s own Athletic Director Tom Kleinlein and Associate Athletic Director Tracy Ham will be among those men who participate this year’s march. Participants can register online prior to the event or on the day of. This event is co-sponsored by  co-sponsored by the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART), University Wellness Program, Health Services, the Multicultural Student Center, Fraternity & Sorority Life and Sexual Assault Student Educators. For more information, please visit the event Facebook page and the international website, walkamileinhershoes.org.

The campus community is also invited to hear guest speaker Tim Mousseau as he presents, “Retaking our Story: Reframing the Sexual Assault Conversation,” on Tuesday, March 29 at 7 p.m at the Performing Arts Center

Mousseau draws from his own experiences as a victim of sexual assault. With a photograph and a few accompanying words, he was faced with the evidence of an experience he had no memory of – he discovered he was a victim of sexual assault. Not only did he have to come to grips with this new reality, but he also had to face the nightmare of being stalked and blackmailed.

The next two years of his life were a struggle of mixed emotions and coping mechanisms, but over time he came to realize something—this was his story to tell and by telling it, he could take ownership of it. After years of silence, Mousseau wrote about his experience and his secret was read by thousands. He wasn’t prepared for the response – he heard back from hundreds. By opening up the conversation on this sensitive topic, he discovered he had the power to redefine his outlook and made it his mission to empower others to do the same.

Mousseau is hosted by University Wellness Program, Health Services and Campus Life Enrichment Committee (CLEC).

Additionally, students will have the chance to learn more about dating violence and warning signs, or “red flags,” of a bad relationship during The Red Flag Campaign™, hosted by the University Wellness Program. Each day from March 28-31, students will have an opportunity to write a possible warning sign on a red flag to be placed in the grassy area near the Russell Union Rotunda.