Child abuse will come to the fore this weekend as Tauranga residents rally behind a global protest against abuse and sexual exploitation of children.

Mother-of-four Suzy Brown is organising Tauranga's Worldwide Peaceful Protest against Child Abuse – one of many similar protests planned throughout New Zealand, and the world, on April 5.

Protest organiser Suzy Brown with signs prepared for Saturday's protest. Photo: Bruce Barnard.

Suzy says the idea is to showcase through a peaceful protest that violence against children will not be tolerated.

She's asking Tauranga residents to join her in the rally starting from the Tauranga Police Station at noon on Saturday.

'We're going to walk around to the courthouse, where we will have a couple of speakers. It's a peaceful protest, but I'm asking people if they have banners to bring those along,” says Suzy.

'One of my friends is taping her mouth shut; to illustrate dead children who cannot speak. Another is bringing a banner that says she is a foster carer, but she wishes her job was redundant.”

Suzy has fostered children and seen the effects of child abuse first-hand.

'That's where my passion for this has come from. And so I'm really trying to raise awareness, then more people will take notice when something isn't right and speak out about it.”

She believes child abuse is a very big issue in New Zealand and sentences for child abuse offences aren't harsh enough.

Tauranga City councillor Steve Morris, who will speak at the courthouse on Saturday, says reducing child abuse is about community togetherness. He says the more people are aware of child abuse, the more likely they are to recognise and report it.

'I'm the chair of the Community Development Committee, and like all social issues child abuse is best responded to in the community.

'When you look at patterns of child abuse, generally you see reports in the media of ‘Why didn't the neighbours know? Why didn't someone tell somebody?' – I think there is a wider community responsibility there.”

Steve says people need to reconnect with their neighbours and look out for one another.

'We need to be concerned about our neighbours, not in a busybody way, but in a neighbourly way, so we can be aware of these issues and speak up.”

To be involved, meet at the Tauranga Police Station on Monmouth St at 12pm, Saturday, April 5.