On October 19th, the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies (OACAS), Children’s Aid Societies (CAS), and key partners marked Child Abuse Prevention Month (CAPM) with a provincial GO PURPLE DAY to raise awareness about how it takes a community working together to prevent child abuse. Click on the campaign twitter hashtags #iBREAKthesilence and #SpeakUpforKids to see the enthusiasm with which this day was embraced across the province.
“GO PURPLE DAY started out in Eastern Ontario and has been slowly growing over the years,” says Caroline Newton, Director of Communications at the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies. “This year we estimate that approximately ten thousand people showed their support for child abuse prevention by dressing in purple.”
Boards of education and schools across the province are among the key partners that made GO PURPLE DAY a success. This year 37 boards of education and hundreds of schools dressed in purple and held various “ibreakthesilence” activities. Participating boards of education were tracked on this interactive map.
On the evening of October 19, the CN Tower, a provincial landmark, showed its support for Child Abuse Prevention Month and GO PURPLE DAY by lighting up in purple in addition to the standard light show that runs for eight minutes at the top of every hour.
