make Bermuda safer for women.

And despite organisers admitting being slightly disappointed about the numbers showing their lights in the morning, more joined in on their way home from work before nightfall.

While organiser, Mr. Ross Smith estimated that only 30 percent of drivers responded to his call, he claimed that the campaign to enlighten men, in general, and the Government, in particular, was already a great success.

Mr. Smith started the campaign, saying he had a wife and a daughter who were as much at risk as any woman in Bermuda because of the recent spate of rapes and attacks on women.

He said: "We were disappointed and shocked by the morning turnout.

Disappointed because a lot of people did not know about the display of lights.

"But I was shocked by the number of women and men who said they would not turn on their lights. The women because their husbands had told them not to, and the men because they were embarrassed.

"One woman told me that she had her lights on driving into work and was verbally abused by some men. That is shocking. It shows how bad the problem is.'' Mr. Smith said that he had heard that many more people turned their lights on during the day once the campaign had been given some publicity.

He said he now aimed to set up a committee to organise future events to draw attention to the violence.

"We must begin to educate people, especially men, that violence against women is wrong. It happens in the home and this is seen by children which starts a cycle. Young boys do not respect women and some women seem to expect violence.

This cycle must be broken,'' he added.

Mr. Smith and the group are to organise vigils in Hamilton's parks and are looking to petition Government over penalties for sexual offences and violence against women.

He said: "One woman has told me that she has had to change her jogging habits and times because she fears she will be attacked. Again we are looking to hold a jog or a walk to draw attention to the issue.

"This must be shown to be a serious issue and this type of violence must be stopped to make women's lives safer and more comfortable.''