If it were between countries, we'd call it war. If it were a disease, we'd call it an epidemic. If it were an oil spill we'd call it a disaster. But it's happening to women, and it's just an everyday affair.
Michael Kaufman, Founder, White Ribbon Campaign, Canada
The main features of the exhibition
The exhibition itself is very simple. It consists of 104 pairs of shoes accompanied by a quote from and photograph of the donor, 10 large boards with facts about violence against women provided by Scottish Women's Aid and Rape Crisis Scotland. A large poster of a poem called Euphoria written by a survivor, a table with information and contact addresses for YWCA Scotland and local and national agencies working on Violence Against Women. A comments book and donations box.
Why Shoes??
The empty shoes represent the number of women who have been killed in one year as a result of Men's Violence Against Women. The shoes are laid out in a path, as you walk round the exhibition you walk in the footsteps of each woman who has died. The shoes come in all shapes, sizes and designs representing women from all walks of life and that violence against women affects women from all social backgrounds and not any one section of society. We did not ask men to donate their shoes as we wanted to stress the number of women who have died. We invited women who were known for achievements in their own right not wives or partners of well known men.
I loved these shoes, but they are agony. Anything that causes that much pain and suffering should be dumped!!
Elaine C. Smith, Entertainer
The Detail
The shoes have been used in many venues galleries, libraries, colleges, community centres, village halls. The exhibition is staffed by volunteers from either YWCA or a local agency working in the field of VAW. It is important that volunteers are briefed in preparation to deal with public reaction. The exhibition is very moving and can be overwhelming. Most people will view the exhibition, make a brief comment, write something in the comments book and leave. Some will want time to sit quietly on their own and reflect, some will engage staff in a discussion on the issues, others might want to talk to someone about their personal experiences. It is important to have contact details that they can taken away. The comments book has proved a powerful feature of the exhibition and we now have literally hundreds of comments from women from all around Scotland.
Some of this just takes the breath away! Throughout all the enduring pain and struggle there is still a prevailing sense of humour. Long may that spirit remain intact. Wick, June 2004 The venues that we have used have been places that people have been invited to view the exhibition, or areas that have been sectioned off so that people choose to view the exhibition. The shoes can be interchangeable, we have invited local personalities, politicians or business people to donate their shoes when on display in their area. Having celebrity involvement has ensured maximum press coverage at national and local level although at times we have had to work hard ensure that the important message behind the campaign is highlighted and that the YWCA gets credited with ownership of the exhibition. The exhibition has been used very successfully to promote particular events throughout the year e.g. YWCA Week without Violence, 16 Days of Activism, International Women's Day. It has also been used by other agencies to promote their work e.g. launch Community Safety and Violence Against women partnerships, or to launch strategies
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