Local Athletes and Coaches Walk a Mile in Her Shoes Raising $4,335

In the world of athletics, young men are trained to be tough and use their power to dominate opponents. That doens’t mean however, they can’t stand up against domestic violence, which is what a group of local coaches and athletes did Sunday at the Chatham-Kent Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event.

In total, Chatham-Kent’s Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, (the International Men’s March to Stop Rape, Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence) raised $48,000 for the Chatham-Kent Women’s Centre.

The walk featured fire fighters, teachers, politicians, bikers, police officers, coaches and athletes. Seeing local athletes walk was an important image according to Sarah Fraleigh, one of the local event organizers, and an employee at the Chatham-Kent Women’s Centre.

Fraleigh said, often, athletes who are encouraged to be tough, aggressive and violent in sport, carry these tendencies home,

“Power and aggressive physical contact are not only accepted but encouraged in many sports. Unfortunately, sometimes this violence spills over into the family lives of sports players and sports enthusiasts, putting their loved ones at risk of domestic violence.”

It has been shown that athletes and those watching sporting events, have higher incident rates of domestic violence.

The Chatham-Kent athletes that walked, however, from a young martial arts competitor, to junior hockey players, were sending an important message to other athletes and sports fans out there; that even tough athletes need to stand up against domestic violence, and respect each other as people,

“Having a large CK sports presence during the Walk a Mile Men’s March,” said Fraliegh, “sends the message that respect for each other tops violence every time.”