BRITISH actor, author and musician Matthew McVarish, who travels Europe by foot, came to Slovakia for a six-day visit on January 30. He has already walked through the Benelux countries, Scandinavia, Baltics, Poland, the Czech Republic and Austria.
McVarish is an ambassador of the Stop the Silence organisation and its campaign titled ‘Road to Change’ which points to the problem of sexual violence on children, Monika Holečková, spokeswoman for the British Embassy to Slovakia, wrote in a press release.
One of the goals of the campaign is to re-examine, refind, and/or set government policies with regard to age of consent legislation and statute of limitations, according to the Road to Change website. Since many victims report the crime too late, the perpetrators are left unpunished and continue in their deeds.
McVarish, who himself faced the sexual violence in the past, has been travelling for eight months and walks about 40 kilometres a day. When passing through countries he contacts with the non-governmental organisations and talk to the authorities about the problem.
During his visit to Slovakia he will meet with representatives of the Slovak Labour Ministry, NGOs and the ombudswoman.
Source: British Embassy to Bratislava
Compiled by Radka Minarechová from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
