By Anna Weaver
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Cars honked and passersby cheered as hundreds of men and boys, and a handful of women, marched through downtown Honolulu on Thursday, Oct. 19, in the 12th annual Men’s March Against Violence.
The yearly event is intended to increase public awareness about domestic violence in Hawaii and give males an effective voice in speaking out about the issue. It’s also the largest event in Hawaii marking National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
The march theme this year was “We stand in Unity as One Voice.” Participants wearing Men’s March T-shirts and carrying group banners gathered at the State Capitol around noon and proceeded to march down Beretania, Alapai and King Streets, ending at Sky Gate Park on the grounds of Honolulu City Hall.
Bishop Larry Silva opened the march with a blessing. “You [God] are the bulwark and the defending wall that can keep in check the raging beast we sometimes find within us,” he prayed.
The accounts of six women who died from domestic violence this past year were read aloud as the crowd of several hundred listened in silence. A bell tolled after each name was read. Two speakers, peace activist Peter Shimazaki Doktor and Wally Lau, the executive director of Neighborhood Place in Kona, spoke on the issues facing men and boys today.
Joseph Bloom, Catholic Charities Hawaii Therapeutic Services assistant director and founder of the Men’s March Against Violence, was honored as Distinguished Citizen of the Year. He accepted his award on behalf of all the people working to end domestic violence.
“I want to congratulate all of you who are courageous enough to come out here year after year, and make that very tough distinction that this isn’t about making women tougher,” Bloom said.
“It’s not about buying more guns. It’s not about buying cans of Mace,” he said. “It’s about us men standing up and taking responsibility and accountability for our behavior.”
The rally ended with a lei ceremony where Bishop Silva, Doktor, Lau and Bloom gave their leis to boys with a hug, the singing of a peace song by Voyager Charter School students, and the reading aloud of a “Pledge of Non-Violence” by the whole crowd.
The March Against Violence was sponsored by Catholic Charities Hawaii, the Domestic Violence Clearinghouse and Legal Hotline, and the City and County of Honolulu.