Jesse Scheckner
Nearly one month and 1,500 miles later, Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book has again completed an ambitious trek across Florida to raise awareness about child abuse and how communities can better prevent it.
Book, the founder and CEO of the nonprofit Lauren’s Kids, began this year’s “Walk in My Shoes” initiative in Key West on April 3. She then zigzagged across the state, embarking on more than two dozen walks before capping things off at an after-party on Saturday with local leaders, volunteers, survivors and advocates at the Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center in Panama City.
The trek saw Book partner with numerous groups and organizations, including Bikers Against Child Abuse, Kristi House Children’s Center in Miami, Project HELP in Naples, the Women’s Center of Jacksonville and many others.
In addition to raising awareness about prevention through walks and school visits, Lauren’s Kids highlighted local resources for hope and healing in the communities the organization walked through. Book also visited classrooms to teach lessons from her foundation’s Emmy Award-winning, nationally used Safer, Smarter Kids and Safer, Smart Teens abuse-prevention programs.
She and her crew traveled up to 25 miles a day this month, which is recognized as National Sexual Assault Awareness Month and National Child Abuse Prevention Month.
“We’re so thankful to the thousands of advocates, supporters, and brave survivors who walked hand-in-hand with us during this incredible monthlong walk for healing and change,” Book said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, we know 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 5 boys will suffer sexual abuse before graduating high school. The statistics are staggering, but the solution is clear: 95% of child sexual abuse IS preventable with education and awareness. Every mile we walked and every hurdle we crossed was to protect childhood, and while this month has ended, our advocacy and mission are far from over.”
Book began “Walk in My Shoes” in 2010 as a way to navigate through her own healing journey, walking from the home in which a childhood nanny abused her to the steps of the Historic Florida Capitol. The walk grew over the next eight years to include thousands of participants.
According to Lauren’s Kids, there are more than 42 million survivors of child sexual abuse living in the United States today, including at least 1 million children in Florida. It remains among the most unreported crimes in the country.
“Even if we do not realize it, statistically, each one of us knows someone who has experienced sexual violence — and each one of us likely knows a perpetrator, too,” Florida Council Against Sexual Violence Executive Director Jennifer Dritt said in a statement. “It is up to us all to educate ourselves, and we are proud to work with Lauren’s Kids to become a part of the solution.”
