ST. THOMAS — Scores of Seventh-day Adventists on the island expressed their dissent toward domestic violence during a march and rally Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n
Downtown Charlotte Amalie was transformed into a sea of purple as more than 100 men, women and children marched through the streets waving placards that bore messages denouncing violence against women and children and calling for an immediate end to this scourge on society.<\/p>\n
\u201cReal Men Beat Eggs, Not Women,\u201d one placard read.<\/p>\n
\u201cGive Us Kisses, Not Kicks,\u201d another poster declared.<\/p>\n
\u201cEnd It Now, No one Deserves Abuse,\u201d a third sign stated.<\/p>\n
Led by a police outpost, participants in the \u201cEnd It Now\u201d campaign braved the sweltering afternoon heat and trekked \u2013 to the sound of music provided by the Pathfinder drum corps \u2013 from the Addelita Cancryn Junior High School to the Emancipation Garden where several presenters took to the stage to address the issue of domestic violence.<\/p>\n
Area Co-ordinator for the Women\u2019s Ministries, one of the church\u2019s agencies responsible for the \u201cEnd It Now\u201d initiative, explained why the church chose to speak out against domestic violence.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018End It Now\u2019 builds on the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s long tradition of responding to the needs of all human beings, namely to stand up in favor of human rights, tolerance, the well-being of children, freedom of expression and conscience, and the protection and integrity of families,\u201d Penn said.\u00a0\u201cIt is\u00a0a call to action\u00a0for all Adventists and supporters to stand up and put into practice those principles we hold true.\u201d<\/p>\n
Director of the Family Resource Center, Vivian St. Juste, used the occasion to highlight the work that her organization does to assist victims and families of domestic violence.\u00a0 The Family Resource Center, formerly known as the Women\u2019s Resource Center, is a 24-hour, private non-profit agency that provides a counseling program and a shelter for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.\u00a0 St. Juste educated the crowd about the types of abuse victims suffer \u2013 emotional, financial, psychological, spiritual, mental, physical and verbal \u2013 and said the FRC helps victims and perpetrators of domestic violence.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you don\u2019t stop the leak, you will always have a leak,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The \u201cEnd It Now\u201d campaign is a global initiative to raise awareness and advocate for the end of violence around the world.\u00a0 The \u2018End It Now\u2019 movement is the boldest stand the Seventh-day Adventist Church has ever taken regarding violence against women and children.\u00a0 Most recently, the drive has been expanded to include men and the elderly.\u00a0 Launched in October 2009 in partnership between the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), which is a prominent humanitarian organization, and the Department of Women\u2019s Ministries of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, \u201cEnd It Now\u201d extends to more than 200 countries and territories.<\/p>\n
Penn said the Virgin Islands began its annual observance of \u201cEnd It Now\u201d about three years ago on the fourth Saturday in August.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2014, \u2018End It Now\u2019 was first introduced to our local community,\u201d Penn said.\u201d\u00a0 In bringing awareness to our local communities, we have participated in several parades and have conducted rallies at the Tutu Park Mall and at the Emancipation Garden.\u00a0 Collaboratively, we have worked with the Family Resource Center and deeply appreciate the support they have given us throughout the years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Domestic violence has been documented as a major issue within the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Incidences of abuse follow trends documented in non-Adventist populations. This is why\u00a0\u201cEnd It Now\u201d\u00a0seeks to increase personal awareness, responsibility, and involvement to effectively help end violence in every family and community, according to the official website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ST. THOMAS — Scores of Seventh-day Adventists on the island expressed their dissent toward domestic violence during a march and rally Saturday afternoon. Downtown Charlotte Amalie was transformed into a sea of purple as more than 100 men, women and children marched through the streets waving placards that bore messages denouncing violence against women and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":56113,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[191,147],"tags":[7357,6744,70,121,68],"yoast_head":"\n