MONCTON, NB-Men of all shapes and sizes will converge on the downtown today, wearing high heels.

They will slip into their stilettos and “Walk a Mile in her Shoes.”

Amber Richards is the Coordinator for the event that raises money for the prevention of gender violence.  She says the shoes in the event are used as a metaphor.  “It’s inspired by that old saying that you can’t understand a person’s experience until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.  That’s why we ask men to literally walk one mile in high heeled shoes in downtown Moncton.”

She says both men and women are affected by gender violence, and unfortunately it’s a subject that isn’t openly discussed.

Richards says she started the walk in Moncton five years ago.  “I knew we had a need in Moncton to come up with some way to raise some money and awareness for organizations that are trying to prevent gender violence.”

The walk gets underway at noon.  There will be on site registration starting at 11am at the Crowne Plaza.