Ms Mullen, who spent the past month walking the lower North Island to raise awareness around child abuse, found out about the worldwide event only two days ago and said she was not surprised by today's small turnout.
A survivor of abuse, she said it was important it was her message which stayed in the forefront.
"It's about making our children in the country safe."
Child advocacy group Child Matters spokeswoman Rachel McGuire said there would not have been one reason why today's turnout was so small, but the limited timeframe would have contributed to the low numbers.
Some New Zealanders were very passionate about the issue of child abuse, she said.
"But then there's also a huge number of people out there who don't see it as their issue, they see it as a government issue or an authority issue and they don't recognise that it's actually a community problem."
Protests, like today's were not something which happened every day, and it was often a particular case which would strike a chord with the public.
While there was a wider awareness around child abuse now, there was still a long way to go, Ms McGuire said.
"I think people just don't appreciate how big an effect there is throughout New Zealand or the world, and that every single person is affected somehow."
The small attendance at today's protest reflected this, she said.
