Miss World Australia finalist Adau Mornyang says she was sexually assaulted at age 17
APRIL 20, 20176:30PM
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
WHEN model Adau Mornyang was just 17, she was sexually assaulted by two men on the concrete floor of an Adelaide car park.
She had been drinking with the men — whom she knew through her community — after turning to them for advice following a breakup.
But as the alcohol began to take over her system, the men gained control over her body.
“I could hear the two boys talking among themselves as I laid there in shock and I knew what was about to happen, but I couldn’t move. My body just shut down,” Ms Mornyang, now 22, said in an emotional, hour-long Facebook live video she posted on Tuesday evening, which has already been watched more than 35,000 times.
Using the pseudonyms “John” and “Peter”, Ms Mornyang described in graphic detail how the two men assaulted her.
“I remember a point where John was on top of me and he was doing what he was doing and I lay there in shock. I couldn’t talk, I couldn’t open my mouth, I couldn’t open my eyes ... my vision was so blurry,” she said.
“I was laying there praying to God I just died ... I just couldn’t believe it was happening.”
Adau shared her sexual assault story in a Facebook live video on Tuesday night. Picture: FacebookSource:Facebook
Ms Mornyang, a state finalist in the Miss World Australia pageant who now lives in Melbourne, is speaking about her traumatic experience with the hope it will encourage other assault victims to come forward and stop “living in shame”.
While she reported her assault to police and the two men involved were initially charged, she later asked them to drop the charges for fear of retribution.
“It got to the point where I was being bullied and harassed. People said to me, ‘Don’t try to ruin their lives’. They said ‘Why did you try to set them up?’” Ms Mornyang told news.com.au.
“I thought: ‘What am I going to get out of this? It might get even worse. So I went back to my detective and I begged them to drop the case,” she said.
“They tried to reassure me so many times that it was OK, but I was so fearful for my life that I dropped it and moved back to Melbourne.”
Adau Mornyang.Source:News Limited
She says victim-blaming is still alive and well in Australia. While she has been inundated with positive messages from women thanking her for sharing her story, she’s also received backlash from the men in her community.
“Our community is so quick to blame the victim and we need to stop giving criminals that power. People aren’t speaking up because they’re afraid of being judged,” she said.
“I had this huge burden and I was blaming myself. I didn’t see myself as worthy but now it’s going to help motivate me to speak for the voiceless.
“I want us women and girls to come together and speak up. We need to stop hiding. Enough is enough.”
Melbourne model Adau Mornyang is a finalist in the Miss World Australia beauty pageant.Source:Supplied
Ms Mornyang, who will compete against 27 other finalists for the Miss World Australia crown in July, sees the pageant as an opportunity to speak publicly about important social issues.
She came to Australia as a refugee when she was 10 and could not speak any English. She says many young people in the Australian Sudanese community struggle to fit in, and turning to drugs and violence as a result.
“It really breaks my heart to see what is happening with the teenagers, they need help,” she told The Herald Sun
“Where are their parents? Who is looking after them? Who are there mentors? The community has to come together and really learn the culture of Australia, learn the laws of the country — that is the only way you are going to be able to keep your kids.
“I think me going in Miss World is going to give me the opportunity to speak up, and share my story to help those who are going through a hard time, and to teach those who don’t know much about South Sudan.”
http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/true-stories/miss-world-australia-finalist-adau-mornyang-says-she-was-sexually-assaulted-at-age-17/news-story/aefac3e4726c3c3c64cb4ce8b5267d86
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