Valleywide : Residents to Protest Domestic Violence

Members of the National Organization for Women will join other Valley residents in a caravan tonight from Sylmar to Sherman Oaks to protest violence against women.

The group will have its monthly vigils in both communities to draw attention to the cases of Sandra Navarez, who was allegedly kidnapped from a Sylmar Laundromat last year, and Margaret Ovuoba, a La Crescenta mother searching for her five children who she believes were abducted by an abusive ex-husband last month.

Demonstrators, including state Assembly candidates Valerie Salkin and Bob Hertzberg, will meet at 5:30 p.m. at the intersection of Hubbard Street and Foothill Boulevard in Sylmar for the first vigil.

At 6:30 p.m. the group will drive to Sherman Oaks for the second vigil, which will begin at 7:15 p.m. at the intersection of Van Nuys and Ventura boulevards.

Jean Morrison, president of San Fernando Valley NOW, said although the event’s primary focus will be on Navarez and Ovuoba, she hopes the public will not lose sight of the big picture.

“There is a lot of talk about strangers. But, according to the Department of Justice, the vast majority of women beaten or murdered suffer their abuse at the hands of someone they know or love,” Morrison said.

Morrison, who expects hundreds to turn out for the vigils, is pleading that anyone with information on either case speak to police. Navarez was last seen Jan. 17, 1995, at a Sylmar Laundromat near Gladstone Avenue and Hubbard Street. Police say they have no leads on her disappearance.

Ovuoba sought help from police after her ex-husband, John Ovuoba, failed to return their children to school after a weekend visit. She fears he may have taken the children to his native Nigeria.

After their divorce, the courts awarded the Pasadena father joint custody of their children despite a history of spousal abuse.

For more information on the vigils, call San Fernando Valley NOW at (818) 315-4151.