Miss Michigan tells story of sexual assault to spark conversation at NMC
GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY, Mich., (WPBN/WGTU) -- Sexual assault can be a difficult topic to talk about, but Thursday night The Women's Resource Center organized an event to spark conversation.
Dozens of people heard the story of one survivor and learned about ways to help make a change.
Miss Michigan 2018, Emily Sioma, spoke at Milliken Auditorium and shared her story of surviving sexual assault and what needs to happen moving forward.
"it just gave me chills right there," said Anne Morrison Perry, one of the people who attended the event. "Emily's incredibly brave. She's knowledgeable. She's going out on a limb and sharing things that are very very personal."
Perry is a retired teacher and coach, she feels it's important to find ways to help those dealing with sexual assault or violence.
"Anytime that we can give lessons on prevention and intervention to anyone in our society, we're gonna be healthier as a community and people aren't gonna suffer as much," Perry said.
College student Klara Teubner said she knows sexual assault survivors and wants to learn what she can do to help.
"You get this vicarious living through people's stories and it bothers you," Tuebner said. "It sits with you and you just you want to do something about it because you feel that it's wrong."
This is exactly the passion Sioma is trying to stir up.
"How do we make a difference? How do we make an impact and how do we keep the steam in the "me too" and "times up" movement as well?" Sioma said.
And from one survivor to another, Sioma has a message... "There are people out there that believe you and support you and are listening to you."
