At eight locations across Australia, Harcourts staff, family, friends and supporters will ‘walk a mile’ in women’s heels to show solidarity and bring awareness of violence against women.
Raising funds through the group’s charitable arm, The Harcourts Foundation, all monies raised will support White Ribbon’s ‘Breaking the Silence’ prevention initiatives in primary and secondary schools.
The fifth annual event aims to raise awareness and much-needed funds to support White Ribbon Australia’s work to end male violence against women. At each location, a White Ribbon Ambassador will participate and put a face to the issue. The community is welcome to participate.
“Violence against women is never a private issue,” said Mike Green, Harcourts International Managing Director.
“We are holding this event to help break the silence around violence, to raise awareness of the issue as well as funds to support work to bring violence against women to an end.”
While violence is experienced by both men and women, most domestic violence victims in Australia are women and the violence is most likely to be perpetrated by a man. Because different kinds of violence have different causes and effects, violence prevention campaigns need a central focus to be successful in their mission.
“The women lost are not just statistics – they are wives, mothers, daughters, granddaughters, sisters, aunts, nieces, friends and colleagues,” continued Mr Green.
“Most importantly, they are people, and the impact of the violence perpetrated against them is widespread and long-standing.
“We want people to know that violence against women is unacceptable – it is never the victim’s fault, help is always available and if you see something you should definitely say something. People need to know that they can make a difference; bringing an end to men’s violence against women will take a whole-of-community approach.”
Over 800 participants took part in the 2016 Walk a Mile in Their Shoes and raised over $118,000, setting a second consecutive White Ribbon record for a community fundraising activity.
The funding helped Breaking the Silence expand into a national program for the first time, reaching out across 13 regions in 30 schools and impacting 1,400 teachers and 16,850 students.
The community is invited to participate or support events scheduled. All walks begin at 11:00 am local time and end by 12:30 pm (exception is the Hobart event which begins at 12.00).
Locations confirmed for 2017
Brisbane, Queensland – Southbank along Clem Jones Promenade to Picnic Island Green, Southbank with White Ribbon Ambassador Channel 10 News presenter Lachlan Kennedy
Campbelltown, New South Wales – Corner Queen and Cordeaux Streets, Mawson Park to Koshigaya Park, Campbelltown with White Ribbon Ambassador Tibor Mokany
Hobart, Tasmania – Collins Court on Collins Street, along Elizabeth Street to Salamanca Square with White Ribbon Ambassador former MP David O’Byrne
Launceston, Tasmania – Corner York and George Streets, to the Brisbane Street Mall with White Ribbon Ambassador Mayor of Launceston Albert Van Zetten
Melbourne, Victoria – Queensbridge Square, Southbank Spillway to Federation Square, Melbourne with White Ribbon Ambassador Tarang Chawla and White Ribbon Advocate Simone O’Brien
Perth, Western Australia – Bell Tower, Elizabeth Quay around Barrack Square Arbour with White Ribbon Ambassador City of Perth Councillor Jim Adamos
South Australia – Corner North Terrace and King William Streets to Victoria Square with White Ribbon Ambassador 2016 Young Australian of the Year Arman Abrahimzadeh
Townsville, Queensland – Officeworks car park (44 Charters Towers Road) to Harcourts Kingsberry Townsville (244 Charters Towers Rd).
Visit The Harcourts Foundation ‘Walk a Mile in Their Shoes’ event registration page. Cost to register is $25, with all registrations and donations going to White Ribbon at the conclusion of the events. If you are experiencing violence or suspect someone else is, please contact 1800 RESPECT for advice and support. In an emergency, call the police on 000.
