KINGSTON, Jamaica — Hundreds of people are expected to register their stance against violence through the Orange Day Walk which is being organised by the Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ) to close out activities for Peace Month.

Nurse of the Year, Denese Dacres Reeves, who is spearheading the walk, said that the impact of violence on women and children has been understated in recent years and therefore, the walk would bring much needed attention to the problem, putting it on the forefront of discussions in the public domain.

“There is also the environment in which the children grow up, where they keep on seeing these acts of violence. They will see it as the norm and as a result, we need to raise awareness to let them know it is not normal and it is not acceptable,” she pointed out in a release from the NAJ.

She said another objective of the walk is to empower battered women and encourage them to walk away from abusive relationships.

“It is also intended to point them to the different social networks and mechanisms that are available for them to tap into and get help, so that they themselves, can be empowered and step away from such relationships,” Dacres Reeves said.

She added that the walk is also to send a signal to the perpetrators of the violence that the women and victims will no longer sit back and do nothing about it. The nurses, she added, were the ones to see the effects of the violent acts when victims turned up at the hospitals.

The walk will commence at 6:30 am starting from Emancipation Park on to Knutsford Boulevard, then on to Trafalgar Road, down Hope Road on to Hagley Park Road, right up to South Odeon Avenue to assemble at Mandela Park.

Dacres Reeves said she anticipates that the event will attract 200 people or more.

People can register for the walk at the NAJ head office at 4 Trevennion Park Road between 8:30 am to 4:00 pm. On-site registration will also be available on the day of the walk, which is now in its fourth year.

“We would prefer if persons pre-register. The cost is $1,500 per person; children 12 years and under is $800 and if it is a group of 10 or more it is $1,200 which will cover t-shirts, hydration and light breakfast,” she said.

This is the second march for 2019, the NAJ said, explaining that the first one was held in January in Mandeville, Manchester.