Inuvik (Sep 29/06) - It takes a lot of anger to walk down Mackenzie street and yell "stop the abuse!"

For Gerry-Sharpe Staples, this anger has been there all her life.

The chair of Inuvik's womens' shelter and the Status of Women Council for the NWT, said she grew up in an abusive household, where she frequently endured beatings.

Shania Kasook, 11, and Shae-Lynn Allen, 9, accompanied their mother Marlow Allen in the march against violence. - Philippe Morin/NNSL photos

"My father was a violent man," she recalled. "He would beat us for looking at him sideways."

Sharpe-Staples holds her father responsible for years of dark times.

Though she said she's found peace in starting her own family, she's said she'll never forget the terror she felt as a child.

On Sept. 21, Sharpe-Staples was one of approximately 40 women who chanted "Take back the night" and banged pots and pans, as they marched down Mackenzie street.

She said the march was a way of condemning abuse and encouraging victims to speak out.

"I take family violence very seriously," Sharpe-Staples said.

"People see the children going to school with bruises, but they do nothing."

Attending her sixth annual march was Marlow Allen, of Inuvik's Transitional Shelter for women.

She and her daughters Shae-Lynn Allen and Shania Kasook carried 74 balloons, representing the 34 women and 40 children currently in the shelter's care.

While Sharpe-Staples said Inuvik does indeed have programs available for victims, she said these are always scrambling for funding.

"We need more funding for shelters, more accessible family counselling," she said.