??Minister of Youth, Family and Sports, Dr. Esther Byer Suckoo
Barbadians are being called upon to show how much they detest domestic violence by wearing purple and participating in the ???Purple Night??? march and rally which will be staged this Friday, May 22, in Independence Square.???? ??
Acting Director of the Bureau of Gender Affairs, John Hollingsworth, wants members of the public to support the event, which starts at 5:30 p.m. at the General Post Office, Cheapside. Participants will walk up Broad Street to Independence Square, where speeches, entertainment and a candle light vigil will follow.
Mr. Hollingsworth said that: ???During the march, Barbadians will have an opportunity to indicate to the wider community and government their abhorrence of the practice of domestic violence.??? He added that the public would also be able to identify the ???need to strengthen mechanisms to combat the prevalence of domestic violence??? by submitting a document with their names to the relevant authorities.
Minister of Youth, Family and Sports, Dr. Esther Byer Suckoo, will deliver the feature address, while Mr. Hollingsworth and Chairperson of SAVE (Service Alliance for Violent Encounters) Foundation, Liesel Daisley, will give remarks.
Entertainers will include John King, Toni Norville, Shane Forrester, Dwayne Husbands and Ayana John, who will sing two of her latest songs which address the incidence of domestic violence. Several students of the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, will perform drama, dance and poetry.
In addition, the Cricket Legends of Barbados will also participate in the candle light vigil in remembrance of victims and survivors of domestic violence.
The rally is being sponsored by the Bureau of Gender Affairs, in association with SAVE Foundation.
saustin@barbados.gov.bb