Symbolism is not enough, Barbados told at red shoes event

Every pair of red shoes tells the story of a life cut short, and those who painted them at the Cave Hill Campus of The University of the West Indies on Friday were told not to let the gesture become mere tokenism.

Students, women’s advocates and international partners gathered for “Paint the Shoe Red”, a symbolic event to raise awareness of gender-based violence and to remember women and girls who have died through femicide and gender-based violence.

Photo by: Cave Hill Campus, Marcomms

The activity forms part of the Red Shoes Project, a global art installation that uses pairs of red-painted shoes in public spaces as a visual reminder of lives lost.

Sponsored by the European Union (EU), the activity was organised by the Institute for Gender and Development Studies, Nita Barrow Unit at Cave Hill, which has collaborated on the initiative annually since 2024.

Dr. Tonya Haynes, Head of the Institute for Gender and Development Studies – Nita Barrow Unit (Photo by: Cave Hill Campus, Marcomms)

Participants were asked to pause and consider the people missing from the shoes: real individuals whose families have lost a child, a parent or a mother. 

They were urged to treat the project as a call for continued work, acknowledging that progress can sometimes falter before moving forward.

It was noted that three women would have been killed worldwide in the half hour before the event began. Officials described violence against women and girls as a “global pandemic” that has yet to receive the urgency shown towards COVID-19.

Participants also called for gender-based violence to be treated with the same seriousness as other major crimes in Barbados.

(CW)