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Harcourts Group (Australia) has announced that it will hold its 2017 Walk A Mile in Their Shoes fundraising event on Friday, 1 September 2017.
At eight locations across Australia, Harcourts staff, family, friends and supporters will walk a mile in women’s heels to show solidarity and bring attention to the national tragedy that is violence against women.
Raising funds through the group’s charitable arm, The Harcourts Foundation, the group will use all money raised to support White Ribbon Australia’s “Breaking the Silence” prevention initiatives in primary and secondary schools.
The fifth annual event aims to raise awareness and funds to support White Ribbon's work to end men’s 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.
Over 12 months, one woman is killed every week (on average) in Australia because of intimate partner violence.
“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.
“The women lost are not just statistics—they are wives, mothers, daughters, granddaughters, sisters, aunts, nieces, friends and colleagues. 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.”
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.
White Ribbon Australia tailors messaging and tools to achieve the mission based on the understanding that most men are not violent, and that most men share the belief that violence against women is never acceptable.
More than 800 people participated in the 2016 Walk A Mile in Their Shoes, and the event raised more than $118,000. The funding helped Breaking the Silence expand into a national program for the first time, across 13 regions in 30 schools, impacting 1,400 teachers and 16,850 students.
The community is invited to participate or support the events scheduled.
All walks begin at 11am local time and end by 12:30pm, except for the Hobart event.
Locations confirmed for 2017 are:
Brisbane, Queensland – Southbank along Clem Jones Promenade to Picnic Island Green. With ambassador Channel 10 News presenter Lachlan Kennedy.
Campbelltown, New South Wales – Corner Queen and Cordeaux Streets, Mawson Park to Koshigaya Park. With ambassador Tibor Mokany.
Hobart, Tasmania – Collins Court on Collins Street, along Elizabeth Street to Salamanca Square. With ambassador former MP David O’Byrne.
Launceston, Tasmania – York and George Streets to the Brisbane Street Mall. With ambassador Mayor of Launceston Albert Van Zetten.
Melbourne, Victoria – Queensbridge Square, Southbank Spillway to Federation Square. With ambassador Tarang Chawla and advocate Simone O’Brien.
Perth, Western Australia – Bell Tower, Elizabeth Quay around Barrack Square Arbour. With ambassador City of Perth Councillor Jim Adamos.
South Australia – North Terrace and King William Streets to Victoria Square. With ambassador 2016 Young Australian of the Year Arman Abrahimzadeh.
Townsville, Queensland – Officeworks car park (Charters Towers Road) to Harcourts Kingsberry Townsville. Ambassador not confirmed, but Jim Fitzgerald, men’s program worker for NQ domestic violence resource services, is going to attend.
To register, visit The Harcourts Foundation Walk A Mile in Their Shoes event registration page. The 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 1800RESPECT for advice and support. In an emergency, call the police at 000.
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