What is WALK IN MY SHOES?
What is ‘WALK IN MY SHOES”?
Walk In My Shoes is a well-established annual project for Zonta Central Coast. It was developed in 2015 by two Zonta Central Coast members, Gael Butler and Rob Rex, after they saw a small tabletop display at a Zonta conference. The display featured the shoes of domestic violence abuse survivors and with direct quotes from them. So moved by what they’d seen, within a month they’d expanded it into a bigger eye-catching installation and set it up in the public thoroughfare of Erina Fair.
Over the 10 years since, it has visited a variety of other venues including Westfield Tuggerah Shopping Centre, Deep Water Plaza, McKillop Catholic College, and Ourimbah campus of Newcastle University.
As awareness has increased, it now includes men, acknowledging that they can also be victims as well as the shoes of children as we understand the impact family violence has on them too. Its humbling for members who man the exhibition to be regularly approached by survivors who’ve escaped, wanting to share their own stories. We’ve taken many quotes from these stories and collected them in a series of diariess. For the brave souls who approach Central Coast Zonta members, still living in difficult situations, we can refer them to agencies that will help them to hopefully, take the next step.
In their own words:
“Dad didn’t do anything to Mum when I was around.
But because I stayed with her, I never got married” Man 62 years.
With our current understanding and increased publicity, it’s hard to image how innocently those early Zonta Central Coast members ventured into the project. Unsure whether they would be met with aggression themselves - which sometimes they did! Who can say how many women’s outcomes our display may have enabled or how much it has raised, but certainly no one who has seen it can fail for those few moments to WALK IN THEIR SHOES.
In their own words:
Often, I put my troubles in a box inside my head,
and close the door tight! I won’t talk about it!” Women 50’s.
We are looking for public space…. If you are an organisation that might like to display for a short time or longer period, we can supply the resources and provide support and publicity. Contact us here.
The top 10 the greatest number of reported incidents domestic violence related assault incidents by Local Government Area, NSW. April 2025 to March 2025.
Blacktown 2403
Central Coast 1875
Canterbury-Bankstown 1815
Liverpool 1530
Sydney City 1203
Penrith 1121
Cumberland 1044
Lake Macquarie 1030
Parramatta 879
Newcastle 840
Total NSW = 38,108
SOURCE = NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research
Walk In My Shoes is a well-established annual project for Zonta Central Coast. It was developed in 2015 by two Zonta Central Coast members, Gael Butler and Rob Rex, after they saw a small tabletop display at a Zonta conference. The display featured the shoes of domestic violence abuse survivors and with direct quotes from them. So moved by what they’d seen, within a month they’d expanded it into a bigger eye-catching installation and set it up in the public thoroughfare of Erina Fair.
Over the 10 years since, it has visited a variety of other venues including Westfield Tuggerah Shopping Centre, Deep Water Plaza, McKillop Catholic College, and Ourimbah campus of Newcastle University.
As awareness has increased, it now includes men, acknowledging that they can also be victims as well as the shoes of children, as we understand the impact family violence has on them too. Its humbling for members who man the exhibition to be regularly approached by survivors who’ve escaped, wanting to share their own stories. We’ve taken many quotes from these stories and collected them in a series of diaries. For the brave souls who approach Central Coast Zonta members, still living in difficult situations, we can refer them to agencies that will help them to hopefully take the next step.
“Leaving was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It meant starting over from scratch, but it was the best decision I ever made.”
In their own words:
“Dad didn’t do anything to Mum when I was around.
But because I stayed with her, I never got married. " Man, 62 years.
Source: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research
With our current understanding and increased publicity, it’s hard to imagine how innocently those early Zonta Central Coast members ventured into the project. Unsure whether they would be met with aggression themselves, which sometimes they did! Who can say how many women’s outcomes our display may have enabled or how much it has raised, but certainly no one who has seen it can fail for those few moments to WALK IN THEIR SHOES.
Walk In My Shoes display at Erina Fair
In their own words:
Often, I put my troubles in a box inside my head,
and close the door tight! I won’t talk about it!” Women 50’s.
Zonta says no to violence against women
Source: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research
The Stats
The top 10 Local Government Areas with the greatest number of reported incidents of domestic violence-related assault incidents by LGA, NSW. April 2024 to March 2025.
Reported incidents by LGA
Blacktown 2403
Central Coast 1875
Canterbury-Bankstown 1815
Liverpool 1530
Sydney City 1203
Penrith 1121
Cumberland 1044
Lake Macquarie 1030
Parramatta 879
Newcastle 840
Total NSW = 38,108
SOURCE = NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research
Reported incidents as rate per 100,000 per capita by LGA
Walgett
Moree Plains
Coonamble
Broken Hill
Lochlan (Condobolin)
Wentworth
Tamworth Regional
Edward River
Inverell
Cobar
55. Central Coast
Source: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research
We are looking for a public space…. If you are an organisation that might like to display for a short time or a longer period, we can supply the resources and provide support and publicity. Contact us here.