Veterans

Women Veterans Raise Awareness of Sexual Assault During Military Service

The women planted seeds to symbolize a new life

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Several women who were sexually assaulted while serving in the military participated in the Miami-Dade County Commission for Women, under the Office of Community Advocacy, cohosted with the South Dade Veteran’s Alliance and Community Health of South Florida Wednesday.

The event was held to show support for women veterans and to symbolically plant a new seed of change in their lives.

The event was held to show support for female veterans of the armed forces on Wednesday at the Redlands. The event was to give information and resources for women veterans who have survived sexual assault and may need more help now that they are in civilian life.

"What we want to do is really create awareness of things that are happening, create resources to help us," said Karen Leal, an Army veteran and survivor of sexual assault while serving.

Leal served four years in the Army and still has difficulty talking about being sexually assaulted while on duty. But she wants to make sure other women veterans also have resources to speak up. 

They planted seeds and potted plants as a way of symbolizing their new lives and futures.

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