On the morning of April 30th, the Municipality of Loulé joined the national campaign to raise awareness about child abuse. A blue human bow set the tone for a morning of conviviality between students from educational establishments in Almancil, in Jardim das Comunidades.
In total, there were 250 children and young people from the schools of S. João da Venda, Escanxinas, S. Lourenço and Cónego Clementino Brito Pinto who, dressed in blue, formed a giant bow, a symbol of this international movement.
To liven up the morning, there were local artists – Lady N, Gabz G and DJ Varela, in which sexism, violence against “girls”, racial discrimination or parental abandonment served as inspiration for the lyrics of the rap songs presented. .
The theater group from the Mud@ki project also presented a play alluding to the theme, showing that “adults often, in their day-to-day lives, forget to pay attention to their children, as they are so focused on their work, but also in technology. And this is also a type of violence that needs to be combatted and which was portrayed by this group of young people”, explains a note from the Loulé municipality.
For Marilyn Zacarias, councilor of the municipality, “the Loulé City Council continues to be a partner and get involved in this great movement. It is important that young people, from a young age, become aware of the meaning of the blue ribbon. The school has an important role and we, as a municipality, continue to be part of this initiative and help them to know the importance of this topic. to children and young people, but also to women”, he said.
It is estimated that 140 thousand children in Portugal are victims of violence.
In 1989, an American woman (Bonnie Finney) tied a blue ribbon to her car’s antenna, in honor of her grandson, a fatal victim of abuse. With this gesture she wanted to “make people question themselves”.
The impact of this initiative was such that April became International Month for the Prevention of Child Abuse.
Blue, which symbolizes the color of the child’s injuries, would therefore serve as a constant image in its fight to protect children against abuse, according to the Municipality’s note.
