Walk a Mile in Her Shoes...high heel shoes, that is!

Last summer, I had the opportunity to help write a grant that would allow the Utah County Health Department to carry out a rape prevention campaign. During the research process, here are some of the shocking stats that I learned:

Rape is the only violent crime in Utah which is above the national average.

College women are more at-risk for sexual assault than their non-college bound peers.

In three quarters of all rapes and sexual assaults, the perpetrator and victim know each other.

Sexual assault is the most underreported violent crime in America

^{In the college environment, less than five percent of attempted rapes reported}

^{Sexual assault impacts everyone – regardless of age, race and socioeconomic status.}

After learning these stats and realizing how much it affects our community (and how much people don't want to talk about it) I gained some passion and motivation for the cause. Our team made a plan, got a coalition together, and realized we had a lot of positive energy for the project. So much energy and support, in fact, that when we didn't get the grant, we decided to go ahead anyway. I hired an intern and we started plannin' away last November. Now, this Saturday our planning and efforts will come to fruition with "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes". It's exciting what motivation, collaboration, volunteer effort (and a little help from a grant from UVU) can do!

If you're in Utah, come be a part of this too!! Come make a difference this Saturday, April 10th at University Mall in Orem. There will be a band, tons of sweet prizes, and some local mascots will make an appearance.

Or check it out in the news! We're already had some newspaper articles and the media will be there Saturday morning. I actually won't be there (I'll be in Philly at the National Lifesavers Conference for work) but I'd love it if you're able to check it out!!!

http://walkamileinhershoes.pbworks.com/

http://girlinthebubble.wordpress.com/

Daily Universe Article

Deseret News Article