During Domestic Violence Awareness Month, take a walk In Her Shoes
It’s easy for people on the outside to look at a domestic violence situation and simply say “get out of there.”
But when you are the one making the decision, living through the hell that is an abusive relationship, it isn’t always as simple as it seems.
To gain some perspective and knowledge concerning domestic violence, the public is invited to attend In Her Shoes: Living With Domestic Violence, on Monday, Oct. 24, from 6-8 p.m., at S&S Mane Attraction in Millersburg. This interactive program puts people in the shoes of different women who face difficult decisions regarding domestic violence. What will you decide when faced with tough choices? Is it as easy as just walking away?
Chances are good that through In Her Shoes, people will leave with more understanding and compassion for those who are victims of domestic violence.
In Her Shoes: Living with Domestic Violence is a revolutionary community education tool which was purchased by Pomerene Hospital in 2000.
In Her Shoes is designed for learning about domestic violence. In the program, participants move, do, think and experience the lives of battered women.
A decade ago, Carol Miller and Sandy Miller took classes to become certified SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) nurses, and once that task was completed, they began exploring possible options as to creating an avenue in which they could educate the public on abused women.
In Her Shoes was exactly what they were looking for, since it provided education while offering a glimpse into the lives of real women who had been battered and abused, and the reasons they were entrapped in these violent relationships.
What they found was that as they presented the program, people who went through the experience had their views and attitudes changed.
“People will be quite amazed and surprised at how their outlook on sexual abuse victims will be transformed,” said Sandy Miller. “These kinds of abuse cases are much more complicated than just leaving an abusive spouse or boyfriend. There are always many different circumstances and scenarios that make things much more difficult, that are often never seen by the public.
“We have had people come through the program who get very frustrated and angry with how the whole experience plays out as they go through it. It is a very moving experience when you don’t get the response you want or expect, and suddenly you begin to realize that there are a lot of things coming into play that make getting out of an abusive situation very difficult.”
There are several different scenarios presenting real-life cases of abused women, and with each step of the program, those participating in the event will delve deeper and deeper into the lives of one of the women, making choices, each choice resulting in another stage where they must continue to choose which avenue to take.
Do you fight back? Take a stand? Allow the abuse to go on to protect your children? Call a friend? The police? Go into denial?
All of these are possibilities in the In Her Shoes project, and all can lead to stunning revelations that participants may never suspect would even be a possibility.
“Because these are based on real cases, and real women, it does make them more meaningful,” said Miller. “You find out how serious it is when sometimes it feels like there is no escape. We’ve seen people’s attitudes toward abuse transformed.”
The whole program takes about one hour, although both Miller and Tina Zickafoose, outreach specialist/advocate for Every Woman’s House, will be on hand to discuss the emotions and experiences of the evening with patrons following their trip through In Her Shoes.
“It is an eye-opening experience,” said Zickafoose. “People will come out of it with a lot more understanding and sensitivity, as they recognize that these women are stuck in a situation where they feel like there is no escape. And the emotions of guilt, shame, anger, depression and anguish are very real as people go through the process and feel the frustration, how every decision can take them to places they never felt they would be in. These cases get a stranglehold on women and they don’t let go.”
Why stay in an abusive relationship? Leaving is not that easy, something people can find out if they take a walk In Her Shoes on Monday, Oct. 24. The event is free to the public. For more information or to register, call Tina at 330-674-1020.
Come take a walk you won’t soon forget.
But when you are the one making the decision, living through the hell that is an abusive relationship, it isn’t always as simple as it seems.
To gain some perspective and knowledge concerning domestic violence, the public is invited to attend In Her Shoes: Living With Domestic Violence, on Monday, Oct. 24, from 6-8 p.m., at S&S Mane Attraction in Millersburg. This interactive program puts people in the shoes of different women who face difficult decisions regarding domestic violence. What will you decide when faced with tough choices? Is it as easy as just walking away?
Chances are good that through In Her Shoes, people will leave with more understanding and compassion for those who are victims of domestic violence.
In Her Shoes: Living with Domestic Violence is a revolutionary community education tool which was purchased by Pomerene Hospital in 2000.
In Her Shoes is designed for learning about domestic violence. In the program, participants move, do, think and experience the lives of battered women.
A decade ago, Carol Miller and Sandy Miller took classes to become certified SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) nurses, and once that task was completed, they began exploring possible options as to creating an avenue in which they could educate the public on abused women.
In Her Shoes was exactly what they were looking for, since it provided education while offering a glimpse into the lives of real women who had been battered and abused, and the reasons they were entrapped in these violent relationships.
What they found was that as they presented the program, people who went through the experience had their views and attitudes changed.
“People will be quite amazed and surprised at how their outlook on sexual abuse victims will be transformed,” said Sandy Miller. “These kinds of abuse cases are much more complicated than just leaving an abusive spouse or boyfriend. There are always many different circumstances and scenarios that make things much more difficult, that are often never seen by the public.
“We have had people come through the program who get very frustrated and angry with how the whole experience plays out as they go through it. It is a very moving experience when you don’t get the response you want or expect, and suddenly you begin to realize that there are a lot of things coming into play that make getting out of an abusive situation very difficult.”
There are several different scenarios presenting real-life cases of abused women, and with each step of the program, those participating in the event will delve deeper and deeper into the lives of one of the women, making choices, each choice resulting in another stage where they must continue to choose which avenue to take.
Do you fight back? Take a stand? Allow the abuse to go on to protect your children? Call a friend? The police? Go into denial?
All of these are possibilities in the In Her Shoes project, and all can lead to stunning revelations that participants may never suspect would even be a possibility.
“Because these are based on real cases, and real women, it does make them more meaningful,” said Miller. “You find out how serious it is when sometimes it feels like there is no escape. We’ve seen people’s attitudes toward abuse transformed.”
The whole program takes about one hour, although both Miller and Tina Zickafoose, outreach specialist/advocate for Every Woman’s House, will be on hand to discuss the emotions and experiences of the evening with patrons following their trip through In Her Shoes.
“It is an eye-opening experience,” said Zickafoose. “People will come out of it with a lot more understanding and sensitivity, as they recognize that these women are stuck in a situation where they feel like there is no escape. And the emotions of guilt, shame, anger, depression and anguish are very real as people go through the process and feel the frustration, how every decision can take them to places they never felt they would be in. These cases get a stranglehold on women and they don’t let go.”
Why stay in an abusive relationship? Leaving is not that easy, something people can find out if they take a walk In Her Shoes on Monday, Oct. 24. The event is free to the public. For more information or to register, call Tina at 330-674-1020.
Come take a walk you won’t soon forget.
Published: October 13, 2011
