Chicago lawyers walk in heels to end sexual assault

More than 20 men, all Chicago lawyers, will slip into stilettos and parade around the Loop on 12 June Tuesday in an effort to raise awareness about violence against women.

The Chicago Bar Association's Young Lawyers Section is hosting its first Walk a Mile in Her shoes event with Between Friends, a local nonprofit geared toward ending domestic abuse.

The men will walk one mile in their choice of stilettos to draw attention to the bar association's effort to curb violence against women.

"We figured if we wanted people to talk about violence against women, what better way than men wearing high heels around the Loop?" said Natacha McClain, YLS Chair and associate at Segal McCambridge Singer and Mahoney.

For more than a decade, the YLS has hosted a spring campaign to bring awareness to violence against women — highlighted by Chicago lawyers volunteering at local domestic violence shelters, McClain said.

"We want, as a bar association, to raise awareness about these issues," McClain said. "We can talk about these issues with each other, but we're often preaching to the choir. This is our way to provide a voice for those who can't speak."

The Chicago Bar Association suggested on its website that men in need of heels to accommodate their larger feet check Boystown retail shops Beatnix and Ragstock, or Roscoe Village's Skyscraper Heels.

The mile-long heel parade will start at the Chicago Bar Association headquarters at 321 S. Plymouth Court and end at State Street and Wacker Drive. About 20 women have also signed up to walk with and support their stiletto-clad friends.

"This will be tough for a lot of the men," said Chicago Bar Association spokeswoman Linda Heacox.

The walk kicks off at 5:45 p.m. — just in time for evening commuters to catch a glimpse of the high-heeled men wobbling through the Loop.

"That's the whole point," McClain said. "We want people to see this — it's a public awareness campaign."

Source: Chicago tribune