When Lake Highlands resident Billy Jones heard about Mayor Rawlings’ Men Against Abuse Rally, he knew he had to participate. He chatted with his friends who meet for dinner every Thursday night at Brothers Pizza, and they were all in.
“We certainly spend resources of time and effort attempting to educate women, young women in particular, how not to be victims or how to defend themselves,” Billy told me. “We spend very little time teaching men that they should not create victims in the first place. This seems backward to me. This is a problem which can be prevented. There is no need for extensive medical or scientific research to ‘cure’ this problem. We need only to educate and provide example.”
Billy and his wife, Tina Herod, have two daughters in college. He says knowing that 1 in 3 young women will be a victim of some kind of domestic violence or abuse compels him to take action.
“I hope this event will raise awareness of the existence and pervasive nature of the problem, educate people about the warning signs of its presence, instruct them what action to take in response, and empower people to teach our young men in particular that violence against women is wrong anytime, anywhere, under any circumstance.”
Billy expects to have 6 or 8 men in his walking group Saturday, and he invites others from Lake Highlands to join in.
“Anyone who has a mother, sister, wife or daughter should be interested in this cause and attend this event.”
The rally begins Saturday at 10 a.m. at City Hall, and you can get more information here.
