The 2015 Men’s March Against Domestic Violence begins on October 8 at noon at the Hawai’i State Capitol. From there, placard-carrying walkers will proceed on foot through streets in Downtown Honolulu until they arrive at Skygate Park, next to the Frank Fasi Municipal Building.
Participants are urged to arrive before noon, around 12:45 or so, to make sure they don’t miss the start of the event. Only men are asked to join in the march; women are welcome at the finish line, where a short rally will be held. The emphasis on men in the Men’s March is to specifically influence men and boys to realize that no level of violence against domestic partners is acceptable.
If you cannot see the video embedded above, watch it directly on UH Med Flickr.
UH Med’s Dean Jerris Hedges to lead march
Jerris Hedges, MD, Dean of the John A. Burns School of Medicine is once again Honorary Chair of this milestone march, and students, student-athletes and leaders from throughout the University of Hawai`i (UH) system are expected to show their full support by joining in the march. Students and faculty of the UH medical school also plan to join the march to raise awareness about and to promote putting an end to domestic violence. The march is annually sponsored by the Catholic Charities of Hawai’i, the City & County of Honolulu, the Domestic Violence Action Center, the Hawai’i State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Kapi’olani Community College, PACT, and PHOCUSED.
“Silent too long”
Dean Hedges was asked to head the march in 2014 and again in 2015 because he is an experienced emergency medicine physician who has seen injuries from domestic violence much too frequently in the hospital. He also serves on the Advisory Board of Catholic Charities Hawai`i. But, even more, the Dean was moved to lead this march by events in his own life. At a post-march rally at Skygate Park in 2014, Dr. Hedges courageously told the story of his own experience with domestic violence. He spoke about his family’s burden–and that shared by so many other families–and he proclaimed, “We have all been silent too long. Domestic violence has to stop.”