Jackson Free Press

They came marching down President Street with bulgy, muscled arms, shaggy chest hair and hard, narrowed eyes. You could almost see the testosterone sloshing from their ears as they swaggered in time. They chanted a militant marching tune as their footsteps drummed aggressively on the street:

"Lord, I hope my Mom don't see," the leader shouted, "what these heels are doing to me!"

The song was apt. They wore some of the biggest high-heels shoes the shoe industry produces.

"Size 16 is the largest size we can get without having to make special order," said Jamie Harris, spokeswoman with the Mississippi Coalition Against Sexual Assault. "Generally, if a man wears a size 14, he'll wear a size 16 women's shoe."

Yesterday, her organization co-sponsored its annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event, an international affair that invites families to participate in a one-mile walk to raise awareness about the issues of rape, sexual assault, abuse and gender violence. This year, the walking trail--and the stumbling, awkward-looking men on it--circled the Capitol. The march beckons men to join women's efforts, by literally walking in high heels, to call attention to these important issues.

Participants like Jackson resident Bernard Moore say they do it because the message needs to get out.

"I do it because I'm a big man," Moore added jubilantly to onlookers.

The people behind the project say sexualized violence is epidemic nationally.

"Every two minutes someone in America is raped. One in six American women are victims of sexual assault. That means someone you know, someone you care about, has been or may become the victim of sexual violence. It may be your mother, your sister, your friend, your girlfriend, your wife, your coworker or your daughter," stated California-based humanitarian nonprofit Venture Humanity, the company behind http://www.walkamileinhershoes.org, [in a statement?].

A high percentage of the manly participants in yesterday's event were members of law enforcement, including the Mississippi Department of Public Safety and the Hinds County Sheriff's Department.

Harris said police officers of all calibers have a personal interest in stopping violence against women.

"They call us during the year asking when it's going to be. They love it. Some of them have their own shoes," Harris said.

"Walk a Mile in Her Shoes" has been held nationwide for 10 years. Yesterday marked Jackson's third event.