There really was a reason behind the herd of fraternity men walking down the Skinner Mall in women’s heels on Monday.

The event, “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes,” was part of “Respect Me, Respect You,” a week devoted to raising awareness about domestic and intimate partner violence.

“Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” symbolized the fraternity members’ understanding of women who face domestic violence.

“I think that domestic violence is a term that people don’t often associate with college-aged students, but it’s important in that women between the ages of 20 and 24 are the most at-risk for non-fatal partner violence,” said Allison Taylor, assistant dean of Students. “This encompasses stalking, verbal abuse, harassment from texting and calling and physical abuse. There are people in our Creighton community who have dealt with these issues, and it’s important to know that this violence exists. We should be taking a stand against partner violence and advocating respect for all people in our community.”

Barbara Harris, assistant professor of Social Work, calls domestic violence or intimate violence an “oxymoron.”

“People should feel safe in a relationship,” Harris said.

The Lieben Center for Women planned the week and presentations and other events were available for students to attend.

“The Greek community has traditionally sponsored an event during what used to be ‘Stop Intimate Violence Week’ and what is now the ‘Respect Me Respect You’ campaign against intimate violence,” said Eric Immel, assistant director of Student Activities for Greek Life. “It was really something that the sorority women focused on. We thought this year about whether or not it was possible to get our fraternity men involved.”

Instead of doing the event as a vigil march, the Interfraternity Council teamed up with the Panhellenic Council to work on an event together.

“We’re going to do a little session about how to walk in high heels, and we’re going to have them partner up on making signs and being a visible presence,” Immel said. “But the hallmark of this event really is the men and women together, saying that [they’re] against these issues and the men specifically saying that they’re willing to understand the experience a woman has in regards to intimate and domestic violence issues.”

Business senior John Reich found walking in heels to be quite a challenge.

“I have a new appreciation for what women go through for fashion,” Reich said. “It was fun to try it, but I don’t think I will be buying any man-heels in the near future.”

Other events included a self-defense workshop provided by Public Safety, a balloon display reminding others that one in four college women are sexually assaulted and a panel discussion over domestic violence in the media, which was led by Creighton faculty members and Dr. Alan Heisterkamp of the Waitt Institute for Violence Prevention.

“We’re not here to bash men, and we’re not here to blame women, either,” Heisterkamp said.

Panel member and communications professor Dr. Chad McBride believes that most people are unaware that domestic violence can happen to anyone.

“Even if it’s something that won’t happen to me, it will happen to someone else,” McBride said.

One thing Harris, a member of the panel, wanted to make clear was that Jeffrey Layten of Tekemah, Nebraska, the man responsible for Wednesday morning’s shooting at the Creighton Medical Center, had abused his estranged wife the night before the shooting.

“Today, for me, [domestic violence] became a public concern,” Harris said.

The discussion focused primarily on the domestic violence concerning musical artists Rihanna and Chris Brown. In February 2009, Brown was accused of abusing Rihanna, his girlfriend at the time. Harris is concerned that too much blame was put on Rihanna for choosing to stay with Brown after the abuse.

“The question isn’t ‘Why did she stay?'” Harris said. “The question is, ‘Why did he hit her?'”

During the presentation, an interview of Rihanna with ABC’s Diane Sawyer was played. In the clip, Rihanna talked about how much the abuse affected her. In Eminem’s song that features Rihanna, “Love the Way You Lie,” though, Rihanna sings a verse about accepting an abusive relationship out of love. The music video for the song has also left people like Mooney “appalled.”

“When comparing the interview with the music video, I just wanted to say, ‘Rihanna, what were you thinking?'” Harris said.

In the end, McBride says that in order to deal with domestic violence, we must put ourselves before others.

“The most important thing is that the ‘Respect Me’ part is first,” McBride said. “We have to respect ourselves before others can.”