AKIPRESS.COM - Thousands of Mongolians protested in front of parliament in Ulaanbaatar on Saturday to demand more action to prevent child abuse, after the widely-reported rape of a male infant shocked the country, Reuters reported.

After the reported rape earlier this month in Dornogobi province in Mongolia’s southeast, a group of concerned mothers created a Facebook group announcing the Saturday protest last week, and it quickly reached more than 400,000 members.

“We want to show child abusers that we are strong in order to protect our children,” said Davaa Baatar, 41, the father of three children who was attending the protest.

The protesters held placards with messages such as “Stop child abuse”, “No child rape” and “Our children, our future”. 

The protest organizers are demanding stricter laws regarding child abuse, better government services for survivors and more public awareness.

“We will give our policy demands to the parliament, government and the president’s office on Monday,” said Odontuya Tsolmon, one of the protest organizers.

The government has promised a response.