Lauren Book-Lim is on a journey to fight against sexual assault one step at a time.
Book-Lim, 25, is walking from the South Florida city of Aventura to Tallahassee in order to educate people about sexual abuse and to lobby for legislative changes during Sexual Abuse Awareness Month.
Friday she made a stop in Gainesville, and about 30 people showed their support for her cause by joining her on a trek from the Reitz Union Colonnade to the Plaza of the Americas.
Book-Lim was sexually abused for six years, from age 10 to 16. Her “Walk in My Shoes” walk started April 2 in the home where she was abused and will end in Tallahassee Tuesday, where she will lead a rally urging the state to continue funding crisis centers in Florida. Each day she walks between 25 and 30 miles, stopping to speak about sexual assault awareness.
On the Plaza of the Americas, Book-Lim thanked the crowd for joining her.
Shari Robenson, the assistant director of the Counseling and Wellness Center, also spoke and educated spectators about the free counseling services available on campus.
“It’s important you have a place where you feel safe,” Robenson said.
At about 10:15 a.m., after Book-Lim had spoken on the Plaza of the Americas, her cell phone rang. The bill she sponsored, which allows people who are registering for driver’s licenses and license renewals to donate $1 to her cause, passed in the Senate with a 38-0 vote.
The walk hasn’t been easy.
“It’s been challenging,” she said. “But the bruises, blisters and shin splints will all go away.”
