Carl Gilchrist, Gleaner Writer

Dozens of placard-bearing persons, including several students, yesterday marched along the streets of St Ann's Bay in a stand against rape and other forms of abuse of children and women.

The placards stated the message: 'Our youth are against child abuse', 'End violence against children', 'Stop sexual abuse now', 'Stop molesting children'.

Personnel from the Child Development Agency (CDA), led by team leader Carlyn Stewart, the National Centre for Youth Development, the Marcus Garvey Advocacy Group, students from Marcus Garvey Technical and the mayor of St Ann's Bay, Desmond Gilmore, participated in the march which started at the Marcus Garvey Youth Information Centre, travelled through the streets of St Ann's Bay and back to the centre.

Satisfied with support

Stewart said she was satisfied with the protest, and called for more support.

"We are satisfied and what we really want is to just ask for more support of this nature and we want to ask that even when the gruesome stories are no longer being published every day in the newspaper or every night on the (television) news, we would still have that drive and that zeal to protect our children," Stewart told The Gleaner.

Stewart said that while some persons might not agree that protests could do much to change the situation, she believed education and empowering people was the right way to go.

"For us at the CDA, we will always believe in that. We also believe if we can just impact one person, then that one person would impact another person and so on. And we will continue with public education, one community at a time," said Stewart.