Miss Pennsylvania Valerie Gatto, a Miss USA hopeful, told Today show that she’s a product of rape. She wants to use her mom’s experience to teach women be more aware of sexual assault.
“Being a child of a rape, not knowing who my father is, not knowing if he’s ever been found, most people would think it’s such a negative situation,” she told the network.
“Being a voice is life-changing, and I just want to keep going.”
Gatto’s mother was attacked on a Pittsburgh street by a man who dragged her behind a building and raped her. He planned to murder her but was scared off by a flash of light. At first, her mother wanted to give her up for adoption but her great-grandmother convinced her otherwise. Now she’s using her mom’s experience to educate others.
She said that she hopes that winning the Miss USA pageant can provide her with a larger platform to educate and inspire people.
“There’s not that many role models for young women out there today that are actually positive and uplifting,” she told the Tribune-Review.
“That’s why I got into pageantry.”
Gatto had me up until this. She decided walking around in bikinis would give her the best platform to educate people about sexual assault instead of, you know, starting an advocacy group or whatever. Yea, ok. Sure. Let’s go with that.