Wobbling and stumbling, more than 50 men jammed their feet inside a pair of high heels on Saturday along Barrie's waterfront for the 6th annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event.

Put on by the Women and Children's Shelter of Barrie, the event raises awareness about domestic violence.

“Violence against women or gender based violence against women is a very serious problem in our society, but we want to do is we want to make this a light hearted event so that people come out and they get involved,” says executive director of the shelter, Lynda Muir.

Muir says 51 per cent of Canadian women have experienced at least one incident of physical or sexual violence since the age of 16. It's stats like this that have fueled residents, including CTV’s KC Colby and some local hockey players to stand up against domestic violence.

It also hits home for Dino Melchior, who lost a friend because of abuse.

“A dear friend of mine, Anglea Hoyt, who was a great humanitarian – she’s from Barrie and worked for the international Red Cross. Tragically her life was taken,” he says.

It costs approximately $120 per week to keep one woman or child in the shelter. Last year the walk raised around $25,000 and this year they surpassed that total by over $5,000.