Barbados’ first four-crown soca monarch Michael Mikey Mercer has told students of The St Michael School that they should reject dating violence.
Mikey delivered the pep talk to the students as the Business and Professional Women’s Club continued its 16 days of activism against gender violence.
The club’s so-called white ribbon campaign seeks pledges from young men that they will not commit or condone violence against women.
During the interactive session, Mikey told the students that that one of the best ways to show opposition to violence was to respect themselves and each other in and out of the classroom.
“Respect each other as human beings,” he said. “Girls you will respect him enough not to hit him and he will respect you enough not to hit you. And if you don’t respect yourselves, nobody is going to respect you.”
While calling on the girls to reach out to help any of their friends who might be going through abuse, the soca champion urged the boys not to condone violent and abusive acts.
“First and foremost, you should not be beating up anybody, you did not bring them into this world . . . As a man, you are a protector. What do you do as a protector? As a protector, you protect,” he said. (AH)
