Bridgewater, Va. – On Nov. 16, BC’s Women at Work hosted a one-mile walk around campus to support the estimated one in four women and nearly one in ten men who will experience domestic violence during their lifetime. 

“Throughout the mile, we are working to understand people who have had to deal with these problems,” said junior and BC’s Women at Work President Beth Gaver. “The least we can do is walk a mile in their shoes and take time and recognize what victims have to deal with.” 

Tuesday’s March featured opening remarks from a representative from First Step, an organization located in Harrisonburg, Va. that provides free and confidential services to survivors of domestic violence.  

“The representative talked about what First Step does in addition to basic information on domestic violence and on domestic violence awareness,” said Gaver. “It was definitely nice to have someone who deals with these issues on a daily basis to give a more informative address than I ever could.”

The event was open for all BC students to attend and included a session for poster-making prior to the walk.

“It was a great opportunity to raise awareness for domestic violence and let everyone that might be in an abusive relationship know there are people who stand behind them,” said first-year Grace Williams. 

The Walk a Mile in Their Shoes event is just one of the many ways BC’s Women at Work promotes advocacy on-campus. 

“Women at Work is committed to Women’s advocacy and focusing on women’s issues and we do this by participating in our community in as many ways as possible,” said Gaver. “This could mean having discussions with people within Women at Work on current topics or doing a march as we did this past week.”

To keep up with the club’s events and advocacy efforts visit their Instagram page.