DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
In the 11th Annual Men's March Against Violence, more than 250 people marched against domestic violence through downtown on King Street to City Hall yesterday.
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More than 250 join in Men's March
Participants want to increase education and accountability
Dr. William Parker does not like the attention he gets while marching for a cause, but he did it yesterday to cast the spotlight on domestic violence.
"I don't like the attention, stares, ridicule," Parker said at a rally at Honolulu Hale following the Men's March Against Violence.
Parker and more than 250 people participated in the 11th annual Men's March Against Violence on King Street from Kekaulike Plaza to Honolulu Hale. Participants included lawmakers, advocates and community members.
October is recognized as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The theme of yesterday's march was "Domestic Violence Is Real Violence," to convey to the public the dangers of all types of domestic violence that affect victims physically and emotionally.
This is the fourth year Parker has participated in the men's march.
Joe Bloom, a program director at Catholic Charities Hawaii who co-founded the Honolulu men's march, stressed two main reasons why the march is held: accountability and education.
"We need to be accountable for our behavior," Bloom said. "We start with ourselves."
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
After speaking during the program, Kealoha Wong, center, hugged Rob Alston, who received a Distinguished Citizen Award. Actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa is at left.
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Bloom said most domestic violence-related incidents are perpetrated by men against women and children. An estimated 10,000 domestic violence-related incidents in Hawaii are reported each year, with many more that go unreported, he said.
Bloom said that in the United States, a woman is abused by her partner every seven seconds. During the rally a bell rang every seven seconds, and participants remembered three victims of domestic violence who were killed in Hawaii this year at the hands of their husband, boyfriend or ex-boyfriend.
» Olakalani Mollena: On May 28, police responded to a fight at Hotel Molokai between Mollena and her boyfriend, Manden Kamai. Mollena was found lying on the shoulder of a nearby road with a blow to the head. She died at the Queen's Medical Center the following day. An autopsy determined that she died from a "blunt force injury to the head." Kamai was charged with second-degree murder and first-degree terroristic threatening. The couple had two children.
» Melody Lam: On June 11, Lam's husband, Danny Tan Lam, called 911 and admitted to killing his wife at their Kapahulu home. Lam had been talking about getting a divorce from her husband. A Honolulu medical examiner determined that Lam died from an "assaultive blunt force injury to the head." Danny Lam was charged with second-degree murder. The couple had two children.
» Felicia LaDuke: On Oct. 7, LaDuke's ex-boyfriend, Spc. Jeffery White, allegedly strangled LaDuke in her car near Kaena Point. He then pushed her out of the car, ran over her body and drove off in her car. A Honolulu medical examiner determined that LaDuke died of strangulation and blunt-force injuries. White was charged with second-degree murder. He is the father of LaDuke's 20-month-old son.
The march was sponsored by the city, Domestic Violence Clearinghouse and Legal Hotline, Catholic Charities Hawaii and KHON 2.