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Sexual assault, harassment in military to be focus of live stream featuring family of Vanessa Guillen

Actress Zuleyka Silver said she wanted to give a platform to the women & men who came forward to share their sexual assault + harassment experiences.

BELL COUNTY, Texas — Actress Zuleyka Silver hosted a social media live stream Saturday to discuss the issue of sexual harassment and assault in the military, she posted to her Facebook page Thursday.

Silver said the stream, which will include Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillen's sisters, her mother Gloria, Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro and the Guillen family attorney, Natalie Khawam, will be an opportunity for people to bring questions and comments.

Silver was executive producer and was joined by Karina Luna, Lizza Monet Morales and Jes Meza. It was streamed on We Are Mitu's Facebook and YouTube pages along with the Facebook page for Work From Home Network TV and their YouTube page

Guillen disappeared April 22. Her remains were found June 30 near the Leon River in Bell County. Guillen's family said she told them she was being sexually harassed but was afraid to report it to her superiors.

Her death sparked a nationwide movement, lead by Guillen's family, Khawam and U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, to expose sexual harassment and assault in the military.

Guillen's story also inspired #IAmVanessaGuillen; a hashtag used by victims who want to share their own stories of harassment and assault.

"Vanessa signed up to defend our country and our rights when she enlisted," Silver wrote on her Facebook page. "Tragically, she was robbed from the opportunity to do so and now it’s our turn to take the baton that was passed to us as a nation when she went missing on April 22, 2020 and the Find Vanessa Guillen search began."

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According to Silver, there will be several military members who have come forward with their #IAmVanessaGuillen stories that will also be featured on the live stream.

I’ve been working on a passion project for the last couple of weeks with these three fellow women to shine a light and give a platform to the women & men who came forward to share their sexual assault + harassment experiences in the military. (@Jesmeza Karina Luna Lizza Monet Morales) JOIN THE LIVESTREAM this SATURDAY, JULY 25th at 2:00PM PST on www.facebook.com/wearemitu & Work From Home Network TV Facebook & YouTube to be part of a critical conversation against sexual assault and harrasment in the military. Vanessa signed up to defend our country and our rights when she enlisted. Tragically, she was robbed from the opportunity to do so. And now it’s our turn to take the baton that was passed to us as a nation when she went missing on April 22, 2020 and the Find Vanessa Guillen search began. We are honored to have several of the brave military members who have come forward to share their #IAmVanessaGuillen story joining us, as well as other special guests, including Vanessa’s attorney Natalie Khawam, her sisters @xolupe_, @mayrisssguillen and friend @fridahernandezz and more. Tune in, bring your questions and comments for an opportunity to have them featured during the livestream. Be ready to LISTEN, LEARN and most of all TAKE ACTION. Spc. Vanessa Guillen is not the first, but she can be the last. #IAMVANESSAGUILLEN Music by: @pieceofclass #metoomilitary #JusticeForVanessaGuillen #runforvanessaguillen

Posted by Zuleyka Silver on Thursday, July 23, 2020

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