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"Don't let rape define your life"

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Samantha Krolikowski
  • 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  The Sexual Assault Prevention and Response office hosted Shelly Monahan-Cain as she shared her personal rape story and stressed the importance of sexual assault prevention during an event in the Red Morgan Center April 21.

"When you're in a situation where you're fighting for your life, you can't even begin to say what you would or wouldn't do," Monahan said. "You don't have time to think that fast."

Monahan is a sexual assault survivor who was one of 40 victims of a high profile criminal in the late 1970s and early 1980s named the South Hill Rapist. This month, the Air Force recognizes sexual assault prevention by raising awareness and providing resources on how to prevent the crime from happening. To raise awareness, Fairchild invited Monahan to share her story with Airmen. She explained how important it is to never give up when helping a victim and that there are many resources for survivors and many people willing to help.

"If you have been or know someone who has been in the situation of sexual assault, rather than staying quiet or not seeking help, please don't be quiet," she said. "Help the person and yourself. There are so many resources out there; and the reason I say that is because it's important to have the courage to step out and take care of whatever the situation is that has hurt you,you don't want to go the rest of your life holding that in."

According to www.rainn.org, there are an average of 293,000 victims of rape and sexual assault annually. That means there is one sexual assault every 107 seconds. This may come as a shock, but one thing Airmen can do to help this number drop is by preventing these occurrences from happening.

"I think it's very important for Airmen to hear stories like this," said 2nd Lt. Heather Brown, the 92nd Medical Support Squadron TRICARE operations and patient administration flight commander. "This issue can be hard to talk about, but hearing her words of encouragement can paint a roadmap for survivors on how they can heal from what they experienced."

Survivors of sexual assault have their own experiences and have managed to receive help in diverse ways. Monahan shared her healing process that included her strong faith in God, supportive coworkers and family. She went on to say that she wants to encourage people who have gone through any type of traumatizing experience to not let it ruin their lives or let it define who they are, but have the strength to overcome the situation.

"I love Shelly's statement, 'This does not have to define your life,'" said Jessica Bradshaw, the 92nd Air Refueling Wing Sexual Assault Response Coordinator. "Shelly has the ability to capture her audience and emotionally connect with them in a way that I have not seen a speaker do before."

Although Monahan went through a horrific ordeal, she thanks God for giving her the strength to talk about her experience with rape.

"He let me live and I promised I would turn this negative into a positive," said Monahan.

Monahan has given more than 4,000 sexual assault and rape recovery talks across the country including women's and men's groups, high school and middle school students and church groups. During her speech, she pointed out how important it is to let people know that what they think happens in a situation is different from those who actually experience it.

"Her story offers Airmen the experience and perspective of a survivor of sexual assault which is sometimes hard to grasp in sexual assault prevention training," Bradshaw said. "Shelly's presentation was inspirational, powerful and the definition of resilient."

For more information on what you can do or how to help someone you know who has been the victim of sexual assault, contact Jessica Bradshaw, the Sexual Assault Response Coordinator, at (509) 247- 4771.