Walk a Mile in Her Heels

If you want to see your mayor, sheriff and the man of your dreams in high heels, you'd better head to Lighthouse Point at Lighthouse Field State Park in Santa Cruz Saturday.

“I don’t know if I can find high heels for my size-12 foot,” admitted Sheriff Phil Wowak, honorary chairman for the first Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event presented by the Women’s Crisis Support ~ Defensa de Mujeres, Santa Cruz County's only rape crisis center and domestic violence emergency shelter.

“I will be in uniform.”

When he learned that flowery flip-flops will be available for men, he acquiesced. 

The staff at Women’s Crisis Support has scoured thrift shops for large-sized high heels, which will be on hand for men who need them at the event.

Kalyne Weisblatt, foundation development director, said the event is “a light-hearted approach to a difficult subject."

The event has been held in Berkeley, Ohio and Canada and is growing stronger, step by awkward step. The mile in Santa Cruz runs from Lighthouse Point along West Cliff Drive.

“This is about community, sharing time with your family as you walk a mile," said Weisblatt. "We want women to bring their husbands, boyfriends, brothers and friends.”

Besides the sheriff, Santa Cruz Mayor Ryan Coonerty and Vice Mayor Don Lane will be walking the walk, although Lane admitted, “Of the two women in my life, neither one owns a pair of heels. I’ll have to go to Goodwill and find something special. How do women walk in those things?”

As a supporter of the city’s Commission for the Prevention of Violence against Women, Lane said, “It’s time for men to step up.”

Coonerty, who admits to being a size 10, laughed, “Having a bunch of men stumbling around in high heels is a good thing! The walk is a creative community event to fight violence against women with awareness and education—and watch men grimace at the same time.”

Women’s Crisis Support was started in 1977, a time, as Weisblatt said, when there were no laws to protect women who were sexually assaulted, no one to advocate for them.

“Then we started the first sexual response team and became a model for other agencies throughout the country," she said. "It’s a 24/7 collaborative model made up of advocates from our agency, law enforcement, the medical community and the judicial system.”

Wowak said the women's crisis agency is a vital link for the sheriff's department. 

"Once we secure the crime scene, we make the call," he said. "The women’s crisis agency is so professional. It’s made all the difference in the world. Victims become whole again. Not only will they respond to the scene 24 hours a day, but they will even stay with the victim during the medical exam, if needed, so law enforcement doesn’t have to.” 

Weisblatt said she hopes for a good turnout Saturday so the agency can continue to fund projects like education.

“Our agency is family-friendly, and we educate parents on the warning signs of sexual abuse and how to advise children on speaking with a trusted adult about an incident," she said. "Forty-four percent of sexual abuse is perpetrated on children under 18, and 93 percent know their attacker.”

Women’s Crisis Support ~ Defensa de Mujeres, with offices in Santa Cruz and Pajaro Valley, serves more than 1,500 victims of domestic violence, rape and sexual assault each year through the county’s only emergency shelter, 24-hour crisis line, counseling, legal assistance and advocacy.

Join the walk at Lighthouse Point at 8 a.m. to register yourself or your team, or go to wcs-ddm.org/news-and-events. The agency encourages walkers to ask family, friends and co-workers to pledge money to raise the suggested minimum of $100 (which includes a T-shirt). However, a donation is not mandatory to participate in the event.

 After the walk, which begins at 9 a.m., refreshments will be served and speakers will share survivor stories and talk about prevention. Call Weisblatt at 831-722-4989 for more information or to volunteer.