Thank you For Walking With Us!

Thank you to everyone who joined the Lauren’s Kids foundation and thousands of walkers across the state for the April 2024 Walk in My Shoes 1,500-mile trek across Florida – beginning in Key West and ending in Panama City. Whether you walked with us for a block, a mile, or more, every step counts in the fight to prevent child sexual abuse and help survivors heal. Mark your calendar: the Walk returns April 2025 during National Sexual Assault Awareness Month and National Child Abuse Prevention Month to raise awareness, educate communities, and empower survivors

1 in 3 Girls
1 in 5 Boys

1 in 3 girls and 1 in 5 boys will suffer sexual abuse before graduating high school.

42 Million Survivors

There are 42 Million survivors of child sexual abuse living in the U.S. today.

Every Zip Code

Child sexual abuse happens in every zip code in the United States.

1 in 5 Kids

1 in 5 children who touch a digital device will be sexually solicited online.

90%

90% of individuals with a developmental delay or disability will be sexually assaulted at some point in their lives.

75%

75% of child victims of sexual abuse do not disclose within a year of their abuse, 45% of child victims keep their abuse a secret for at least five years, many stay silent for decades, and some never tell.

95%

The statistics are staggering…but the solution is clear: 95% of child sexual abuse IS preventable with education and awareness. This is why we walk.

The statistics are staggering…but the solution is clear:

95% of child sexual abuse IS
preventable with education and
awareness. This is why we walk.

A Look Back: Walk in My Shoes 2010 - 2018

From 2010 through 2018, Lauren’s Kids Founder and CEO Lauren Book took to Florida’s highways and byways – literally walking across the state of Florida to raise awareness about child sexual abuse. Lauren’s “Walk in My Shoes” started as her own healing journey, walking from the home in which she was abused more than 500 miles to the steps of the Historic Florida Capitol, and as a way to get people to pay attention to an issue too often confined to the shadows. Her walk grew to include tens of thousands of participants and span 1,500 miles from Key West up Florida’s east coast, traversing over to the West, and ending again in Tallahassee to advocate for legislative and societal change. Over the course of the Walk in My Shoes, Lauren logged more than 10,500 miles in the name of child protection, public awareness, and to let fellow survivors know that it’s OK to tell – and it’s OK to heal.