The 5th Annual Walk a Mile in the Battlefords featured both North Battleford and Battleford Mayors, the North Stars, the local RCMP detachment and more, as the event raised more than $13,000 for the Battlefords & Area Sexual Assault Centre. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW)
inspiring

BASAC’s Walk a Mile in Her Shoes TikTok video gains 4 million views

May 29, 2021 | 3:52 PM

The Battlefords and Area Sexual Assault Centre (BASAC) created a TikTok account back in March to help deliver educational information and broaden their reach to teenagers in the area.

Little did they know just a few months later, that they would become a mega-viral sensation across the world on the platform.

The BASAC posted a TikTok video Friday to celebrate their success with the fifth annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event, a march to stop rape, sexual assault and gender violence. As of Saturday afternoon, the post has been viewed more than four million times, received 1.4 million likes, and has garnered over 21,200 comments.

“We were not expecting this to happen,” BASAC executive director Amber Stewart told paNOW.com. “It was only posted yesterday [Friday] and all of us in the office watched as the comments went—50 comments, 100 comments, 700 comments, 100,000 views. We were all just in shock.”

The TikTok shows men from the Battlefords and area walking in bright red high heels to raise awareness for the cause. Members of the local police service and the Battlefords North Stars were also some special guests. Some even went as far as to wear bright red dresses as well.

If that wasn’t enough, the footage from the event is accompanied by the ever-so-appropriate song choice of Confident by Demi Lovato.

Stewart explained the feedback from the video has been overwhelming, with many comments supporting the participants and BASAC for putting on the event. A lot of people have shown interest to have a Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event in their communities. The top-rated comment is from a user named Kortnee, whose comment of “Now these are MEN” itself received 133,400 likes.

“Reading the comments, it makes me emotional,” Stewart said. “I want the men that walked in our walk to know that this is why we asked them to do this. Reading the comments from survivors saying ‘thank you for standing up for us’ and how other communities want to do it.”

The event itself was held back on May 20, and raised $13,000 for the centre’s prevention education programming. Stewart noted it was fun and productive, but it’s the ‘why’ behind the event that is so powerful.

“It’s a fundraiser for us and a really fun event. We raise money and we have a good time, but the root of it is we want to end gender-based violence,” Stewart said. “The men walking in these shoes, as funny as it is—and it is hilarious—it’s about them saying they are also going to advocate to end violence against women. That’s the big meaning and that’s the takeaway.”

Jeff.dandrea@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW

View Comments