This September, red shoes are stepping back into the spotlight. Throughout the month, and especially on 9 September, International FASD Awareness Day, people across Australia and around the world will pull on red shoes, red socks and red laces to spark conversations about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) as part of the global Red Shoes Rock campaign.
Red Shoes Rock began in 2013, when Canadian educator and advocate RJ Formanek, who lives with FASD, started wearing red shoes to
“Stand out, be noticed and have fun starting conversations about FASD.”
In 2014, Jodee Kulp of Better Endings New Beginnings joined as co-founder, and what began as one person’s bright idea has grown into an international movement. Today NOFASD Australia promotes the campaign alongside the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE), the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) and the FASD Hub Australia.
Why 9 September?
The date is deliberately symbolic. The ninth day of the ninth month is a reminder of the importance of staying alcohol-free across the nine months of pregnancy. It anchors a whole month of awareness activity, and this year that activity shares a single global theme:
“Everyone Plays a Part: It Takes a Community.”
Organisations in Australia, Canada and New Zealand are uniting behind the message that preventing FASD and supporting the people and families who live with it is a shared responsibility, not an individual one.
A hidden disability worth talking about
FASD describes the range of lifelong effects that can occur when a baby is exposed to alcohol before birth. It can affect learning, memory, attention, communication and behaviour, and it is entirely preventable. Yet it remains poorly understood, in part because it is largely invisible. Between 80 and 90 per cent of people with FASD have no obvious physical features, which is why the condition is so often missed, misdiagnosed or misunderstood.
The numbers underline why awareness matters. It is estimated that between 2.91 and 4.41 per cent of Australians may have FASD, and that around 60 per cent of Australian pregnancies involve some alcohol exposure, often before a pregnancy is confirmed. The evidence is clear and consistent: there is no known safe amount, and no safe time, to drink alcohol during pregnancy. The safest choice is no alcohol at all.
Red Shoes Rock exists to turn that invisibility into visibility, to start conversations, challenge stigma, and replace judgement with understanding and support. A pair of red shoes is a small, friendly prompt that invites someone to ask, “Why red?” and opens the door to a conversation that might otherwise never happen.
How can you get involved?
Taking part is simple, and every gesture adds up. This September you could:
Wear red shoes, socks or laces to school, work, sport or your local community group, and be ready to explain why.
Host a red-themed morning tea and set out FASD information and brochures for people to take.
Share a photo on social media using #RedShoesRock and #FASDAwareness to widen the conversation.
Light up a local landmark, hall or window in red on 9 September to mark FASD Awareness Day.
Learn more, and pass that knowledge on, through the resources at NOFASD Australia and the FASD Hub.
Everyone plays a part
This year’s theme is a fitting one for the training and community sector. Educators, health and community workers, sports clubs, workplaces and families all shape the conversations that surround pregnancy and alcohol, and all of them can help make FASD understood rather than hidden. Building that understanding, one informed conversation at a time, is exactly the kind of change a well-supported community can achieve together.
So this September, we’re lacing up. If you spot a pair of red shoes and wonder why, please ask.
That question is the whole point.
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Author: Amanda Robinson (She/Her) BA, MMHealthPrac.
Dja Dja Wurrung and Taungurung Country
Amanda, Head of Learning and Development and an experienced specialist in NDIS and Aged Care, promotes capability and sustainability within the disability and health sectors. With over 15 years of experience, a Master’s in Mental Health Leadership and Management, and an MBA underway, she offers extensive expertise and personal insight as someone with lived experience of disability. A military veteran and dedicated carer of a veteran, Amanda advocates for Human Rights, striving to reduce stigma and eliminate barriers for those with disability and mental health challenges. She is enthusiastic about fostering strong stakeholder relationships through her advocacy, communication, strategic thinking, and analytical abilities.
