November 1, 2011 – Ocho Rios, St, Ann, Jamaica…Nigel Coke/IAD
With shouts of “End it now! End it now!” hundreds of Seventh-day Adventist from across Jamaica marched through the town of Ocho Rios and rallied the call for support to an end to violence against women and children, on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011.
Enditnow is a global campaign to raise awareness and advocate for the end of violence against women and girls around the world. It aims to mobilize Adventists around the world and invites other community groups to join in to resolve this worldwide issue.
“I am happy that we are here today and we are joining hands with all the other groups – the government and other faith-based members — and we are saying we are tired of it,” said Lorraine Vernal, women’s and children’s ministries director for the church in Jamaica .”You may say what can I do? You came out today, you are standing, you are listening, you may be watching via the internet. When you hear violence perpetrating next door, say something, you can do it anonymously. We need to end it now!”
The march by the banner-bearing group clad in purple tops and led by the Pathfinders marching band. It was part of a women’s weekend retreat organized by the central region of the church and supported by the other regions of Jamaica.
“Prevention is always the best way,” said Attorney-at-Law Lori-Anne Montaque, who did a short presentation on Legal Issues and Abuse. “There are enough laws now on our books to protect women and children against abuse; however, I have seen far too many of them [children and women] come to court on matters of sexual abuse and it sometimes takes months of counseling before they can speak to the issues for which they are brought to court.”
Seventh-day Adventists affirm the dignity and worth of each human being and decry all forms of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse.
Vernal explained that every child needs to be protected by the Child Care and Welfare Act and the duty is on each adult to protect every child. “You don’t have to be his or her mother or father, the point is that we must protect our children, because in protecting our children we are protecting our future.”
“There is need for a re-socialization of people,” Montaque added. “Abuse occurs when people have differences and various influences and frustration with life. I hope that through this launch and the awareness that it has brought, we will see some positive changes.”
With the government’s plans to organize events on the fight against violence towards women and girls from Nov. 25 to Dec. 10, 2011, Heather-Dawn Small, women’s ministries director for the Adventist World Church, in her address to the gathering at Buckfield Park, called on Church members to get involved.
“We need to get involved,” said Small. “If there is a march we need put on our purple shirts and get out there with our hand-held signs. We need to get in the communities, get signatures, and inform people of this particular issue. We cannot consider ourselves to be children of God and stand by quietly. We have done that for too long; and while we do that, women and children are dying. By our silence we only help the problem to grow.”
Vernal presented Small with hundreds of supporting signatures to the Enditnow campaign. The Advenitst World Church seeks to gather at least one million signatures to be sent to the United Nations (UN).
“We have collected more than 600,000 signatures so far” said Mrs. Small. “We are taking it to the United Nations because the Adventist Church has never made a public stand on this issue and we believe it is time.”
The campaign which extends to more than 200 countries and territories, was launched in October 2009 in a partnership with the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), a prominent humanitarian organization, and the Department of Women’s Ministries of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
