Meet Ateba Crocker, the creator of a social enterprise called Shoe Revolt. The mission of the company is to use the profit from the purchase of new and donated shoes to financially support anti-trafficking initiatives to eradicate human trafficking and sexual exploitation. Shoe Revolt operates by requesting companies and celebrities for shoe donations – Sarah Jessica Parker is among those who have donated their footwear.

Ateba explains that as frustrating as it is for ‘shoeistas’ to break a heel on their favourite pair of shoes, she wants them to feel 200% more anger when they hear about the injustice experienced by girls and women.

Shoe Revolt profits will address sexual exploitation in three ways.

• Housing: 75% of women walk into prostitution because they are homeless. Shoe Revolt’s mission is to financially sustain current shelters and help build more.
• Decriminalize the Victim: Shoe Revolt seeks to offer scholarships to victims so that they can pursue higher education.
• Healing: Shoe Revolt supports holistic approaches that deal with childhood trauma, neglect, sexual and verbal abuse, domestic violence, and poverty.

Why is Ateba so passionate about this cause? Because she has a story of her own. At the age of 9, her father began to abuse her verbally and sexually, telling her she looked like a prostitute. A few years later she found herself working for an escort agency. Eventually however, she began to feel like an animal – like prostitution was tearing the life and spirit out of her. She left the sex trade and is now a wife, mother, and college professor. Her heart goes out to children and women who suffer from commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking.

Shoe Revolt opens its online shopping doors on August 1st! Let’s support this wonderful cause by making a purchase or

a shoe donation. In addition to the website, check out their blog here. And remember: It’s more than a shoe…it’s a stand!

Michelle Brock