By Greg Halbleib

BLOOMINGTON – A local agency that serves sexual assault victims has cut a ribbon marking its efforts.

YWCA McLean County snipped the ribbon in downtown Bloomington at the McLean County Museum of History Monday to begin Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Gabe Cribe of the YWCA’s Stepping Stones sexual assault assistance program outlined several activities planned for the month, including an annual event this Saturday in Uptown Normal called “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes”.

“Men get together and we put on high-heeled shoes,” Cripe told WJBC’s Marc Strauss. “We’ll be walking around Uptown Normal this Saturday at 11 a.m., just to raise awareness about sexual abuse and how it’s affecting women in our community.”

The annual “Take Back the Night” vigil and march is planned for Tuesday, April 25th in downtown Bloomington.

“We’ll have some folks who have been directly affected by sexual assault, whether being a survivor themselves or having family members who have been affected, who will speak,” Cripe said. “We’ll offer support to those folks.”

Cripe said awareness is important to preventing sexual assault, and it’s important to start young.

“A lot of times these conversations are tough to have,” Cripe noted. “People don’t want to have these conversations, but if we can start talking about it at an early age, I think we’ll be a little ahead of the game.”

More information is available on the Stepping Stones page on the YWCA web site at ywcamclean.org.

Greg Halbleib can be reached at [email protected].