On the 8th of March 2014 for a second time in Bulgaria the initiative “Walk a mile in her shoes” took place. The manifestation started at 12 o’clock with starting point “Apteka” (the junction between boulevards “Vitosha” and “Patriarch Evtimii” in Sofia).
“Walk a mile in her shoes” had the purpose of directing the social attention towards the serious problem with domestic violence against women in Bulgaria and to raise awareness of the topic. With every following year more and more men and their families around the world join the initiative. The organizers remind us that according to the Alliance for protection against domestic violence’s data every one of four women in our country is a victim of domestic violence, 70% from the polled students between the age of 13-16 know victims of domestic violence and the cases with children being harassed sexually are increasing.
History
“Walk a mile in her shoes” is an international initiative, started in 2001. At this demonstration men, wearing high heels, attract the social and media attention towards violence against women, the rapes and sexual harassment and collect millions of dollars donated in support for the crisis centers for victims.
This problem is not only women’s problem
Violence against women affects men too – the ones that are taking care of them, their friends, their colleges, the whole society. Domestic violence is a big problem in our country – one of four women reports for violence being imposed on her daily. This means that every one of us knows a victim of violence. She can be a mother, sister, daughter, friend, a wife or college.
Popular Bulgarians became faces of “Walk a mile in her shoes”: Dragomir Simeonov, radio host; Borislav Zyumbyulev, editor of “24 hours” newspaper; Alen Popovich, marketing manager of Social Me; Kamen Alipiev, TV journalist; Niki Kunchev, TV presenter; Martin Angelov, blogger.
The men manifested on boulevard “Vitosha” under the sounds of one of the wildest, romantic and stylish groups of all times – “Aerosmith”. There was even a 40 meters marathon in “her” shoes – that’s how every man participant in “Walk a mile in her shoes” showed his support for the victims.
But on the International women’s day there was a surprise for the ladies too. They could take a red glove from the installation “The white corner”, where in the form of patches were statistics for women, victims of violence in our country. Here’s what the visual artist Denitsa Petrova said: “The project “The white corner” is an installation in urban environment. The boxing gloves are the same gloves women put on themselves to face their daily challenges. The wounds from those hardships are covered with the patches. And every patch tells a different story. One tells about sexual abuse, another one for traffic of women, and third – for the inequality between men and women. The name of the project comes from the term in box “white corner”. That’s the place where the boxers can rest. There is no conflict, no dominance. “The white corner” reminds us through what kind of fights women go. Everyday.”. The project “The white corner” is created with the help of Cooperation for design Charette.
Before the manifestation, at 10 o’clock on the 8th of March the Information Office of the European Union organized a discussion on the topic “Preventing violence against women. A challenge for everyone”. The event started with the Bulgarian euro deputy Antonia Parvanova presenting her report, containing recommendations towards the Commission, concerning fighting violence against women. In the discussion also participated representatives of Bulgarian Red Cross, Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, Bilitis and Bulgarian Fund for Women. The moderator was Irina Nedeva, a journalist from Bulgarian National Radio. After the discussion they joined the manifestation.
The event was organized by Bulgarian Fund for Women, Bulgarian Red Cross, the “Resource Center – Bilitis”, Information Bureau of the European Parliament, One billion stand up for justice – Bulgaria and independent activists. The manifestation “Walk a mile in her shoes” aims to direct public attention towards the serious problem with violence against women and to raise awareness for the topic.
