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'I was a product of rape': Miss USA 2014 hopeful reveals she was conceived when her mother was attacked at knifepoint
- Miss Pennsylvania Valerie Gatto, 24, was born after her mother was raped at knifepoint at the age of 19
- Rather than let the tragic story define her, she has used it as a platform to help educate young girls about sexual assault awareness
The woman representing Pennsylvania in the Miss USA 2014 pageant has opened up about how she was conceived when her mother was raped at knifepoint.
Valerie Gatto, 24, revealed to Today.com that a man dressed in black attacked her mother when she was just 19, forcing himself upon her behind a building until a passing car spooked him, and she managed to run away.
Rather than let the tragic story define her, Valerie has decided to use it as a platform to help educate women about sexual assault. 'I believe God put me here for a reason,' she said. 'To give [people] hope that everything is possible and you can't let your circumstances define your life.'
Tragic past: Valerie Gatto, who is representing Pennsylvania in the Miss USA 2014 pageant, has opened up about how she was conceived when her mother was raped at knifepoint
Childhood curiosity: Valerie (pictured in her very early pageant days) was six years old when she began asking about her father. Her mother told her: 'A very bad man hurt me, but God gave me you'
Now, Valerie is an advocate for sexual assault awareness, traveling the country to talk to women from 18 to 30 about how to protect themselves against violence and sexual aggression.
And she says winning the Miss USA crown would give her an even larger platform for spreading her message of hope and solidarity.
'I hope to show others how to be proactive, what to do, to be present, to be aware of your surroundings,' she said. 'It's so awesome to see their responses. They say it changes their life.'
On her biography website, Valerie - who currently works as a marketing consultant for a periodontal practice - explains that she was six years old when she began asking questions about her absent father, whom she'd never met.
Positive outlook: 'I believe God put me here for a reason,' said Valerie (pictured with her grandfather).'To give hope that everything is possible and you can't let your circumstances define your life'
'I grew up with my mom and my grandparents. They never looked at it as something negative,' she explained.
Making the best of her beauty: '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.'
World traveler: In summer 2013, Valerie spent 52 days in Europe exploring the cultures and teaching English to Italian children (pictured dancing in Rome)
Finally, when she was ten, her mother told her the truth. She revealed that she didn't tell her family she was pregnant, and had every intention of putting Valerie up for adoption until the night that she was born.
'I believe God put me here for a reason, to give people hope that everything is possible'
'Valerie's mom told her family about her adoption plans; but Valerie's great-grandmother said - God doesn't give you more than you can handle,' reads the beauty queen's biography.
'Her mother listened and decided to raise Valerie with the help of God and her family.'
Valerie told Today: '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.'
Exercise outfit: Valerie, who graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, at a Power Walk event
Fight for a cause: Now, Valerie is an advocate for sexual assault awareness and she says winning the Miss USA crown would give her an even larger platform for spreading her message
Staying strong: She says her family's strong Christian faith was a major factor in her positive outlook on life
On the contrary, 'I grew up with my mom and my grandparents. They never looked at it as something negative,' she explained.
'I have a loving, supportive family who told me I could be the president of the United States.'
Valerie, who graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, says her family's strong Christian faith was also a major factor in her positive outlook on life.
Tourist activities: Valerie has made the most of her time in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where the pageant is taking place (pictured showing off her Cajun shrimp and grits at a local restaurant)
Seeing the sights: The 24-year-old beauty queen also took a break from pageant training to visit a house in Baton Rouge for high tea
Competing for the crown: The 2014 Miss USA competition will air on NBC on Sunday at 8pm ET
It also helped her mother cope with the rape. Valerie says she told her when she was a child: 'Something bad happened to me. A very bad man hurt me, but God gave me you.'
'I hope to show others how to be proactive, to be present, to be aware of your surroundings'
Valerie told TribLive.com in December that even though her conception was under terrifying circumstances, she is always grateful that her mother lived through it, thanks to the bright light from the passing car, which she sees as a meaningful symbol.
'I like to think of that light as my mother's and (my) guardian angel,' she said, adding: 'She always would tell me I was her light - I am the light to illuminate the darkness for all to see.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2650027/I-product-rape-Miss-USA-2014-hopeful-reveals-conceived-mother-attacked-knifepoint.html#ixzz33qnF6Ajh
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WHO ARE THE VICTIMS?
Breakdown by Gender and Age
Women
1 out of every 6 American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime (14.8% completed rape; 2.8% attempted rape).1
17.7 million American women have been victims of attempted or completed rape.1
9 of every 10 rape victims were female in 2003.2
9 of every 10 rape victims were female in 2003.2
Lifetime rate of rape /attempted rape for women by race:1
- All women: 17.6%
- White women: 17.7%
- Black women: 18.8%
- Asian Pacific Islander women: 6.8%
- American Indian/Alaskan women: 34.1%
- Mixed race women: 24.4%
Men
About 3% of American men — or 1 in 33 — have experienced an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime.1
- In 2003, 1 in every ten rape victims were male.2
- 2.78 million men in the U.S. have been victims of sexual assault or rape.1
Children
15% of sexual assault and rape victims are under age 12.3
- 29% are age 12-17.
- 44% are under age 18.3
- 80% are under age 30.3
- 12-34 are the highest risk years.
- Girls ages 16-19 are 4 times more likely than the general population to be victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault.
7% of girls in grades 5-8 and 12% of girls in grades 9-12 said they had been sexually abused.4
- 3% of boys grades 5-8 and 5% of boys in grades 9-12 said they had been sexually abused.
In 1995, local child protection service agencies identified 126,000 children who were victims of either substantiated or indicated sexual abuse.5
- Of these, 75% were girls.
- Nearly 30% of child victims were between the age of 4 and 7.
93% of juvenile sexual assault victims know their attacker.6
- 34.2% of attackers were family members.
- 58.7% were acquaintances.
- Only 7% of the perpetrators were strangers to the victim.
On average during 1992-2001, American Indians age 12 or older experienced annually an estimated 5,900 rapes or sexual assaults.7
- American Indians were twice as likely to experience a rape/sexual assault compared to all races.
- Sexual violence makes up 5% of all violent crime committed against Indians (about the same as for other races).
- Offender/victim relationship: 41% stranger; 34% acquaintance; 25% intimate or family member.
Effects of Rape
Victims of sexual assault are:8
3 times more likely to suffer from depression.
6 times more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
13 times more likely to abuse alcohol.
26 times more likely to abuse drugs.
4 times more likely to contemplate suicide.
Pregnancies Resulting from Rape
In 2012, 346,830 women were raped.9 According to medical reports, the incidence of pregnancy for one-time unprotected sexual intercourse is 5%. By applying the pregnancy rate to 346,830 female survivors, RAINN estimates that there were 17,342 pregnancies as a result of rape in 2012.
This calculation does not account for the following factors which could lower the actual number of pregnancies:
- Rape, as defined by the NCVS, is forced sexual intercourse. Forced sexual intercourse means vaginal, oral, or anal penetration by offender(s). This category includes incidents where the penetration is from a foreign object such as a bottle. Certain types of rape under this definition cannot cause pregnancy.
- Some victims of rape may be utilizing birth control methods, such as the pill, which will prevent pregnancy.
- Some rapists may wear condoms in an effort to avoid DNA detection.
- Vicims of rape may not be able to become pregnant for medical or age-related reasons.
This calculation does not account for the following factors which could raise the actual number of pregnancies:
- Medical estimates of a 5% pregnancy rate are for one-time, unprotected sexual intercourse. Some victimizations may include multiple incidents of intercourse.
- Because of methodology, NCVS does not measure the victimization of Americans age 12 or younger. Rapes of these young people could results in pregnancies not accounted for in RAINN's estimates.
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