MANKATO — When Sesamae Riquelme of Mankato was sexually assaulted in August, she initially confided only in her best friend. Days later, she reported the assault to law enforcement.
“The only reason I reported my assault was because my best friend said if I don’t, he could go out and do it to someone else,” she said about the incident, which did not occur in Mankato. “So I only went in so he wouldn’t do it to someone else.”
The full-time South Central College student is sharing her story to highlight violence against women, adding “it can happen to anyone.” She’s vice president of the Zonta Club of Mankato, which strives to make lives better for women and girls.
Zonta is hosting a candlelight vigil 6 p.m. Saturday in tribute to the lives impacted and lost to violence against women. The vigil is at First Congregational United Church of Christ, 150 Stadium Court.
“We want it to be a place and time where the community can reflect and pay tribute to lives impacted and lost to violence against women,” Riquelme said. “We are standing in solidarity for change and to show, as a community, that we care. There are people out there who know women don’t deserve to live in a society where gender-based violence is relevant.”
She expects the Zonta Club will draw about 50 people to the candlelight vigil.
“I want to make it that the vigil is also an OK, safe space for people to go and get support and be able to express their emotions,” she said. “There are organizations in the community that are trying and working hard to make it a better place for women and girls.”
As a sexual assault victim, Riquelme said people need to know that sexual violence against women is all too common. Even if people don’t realize it, they likely know at least one person who is a victim and “who has gone through this. It’s here in our community,” she said. “We need to be looking out for young women and women in our community and have grace for survivors.”
She added “it’s not an easy road,” saying “it’s harder than you think.”
“There’s resources out there and we want girls to continue to keep talking and not hold it in,” she said. “It changed my perspective. Even after the initial assault is over, the path afterwards is as traumatizing and painful as the initial attack. I never expected to be that person who I was advocating for. I didn’t expect to know that this happens way more often than we think it does.”
Some victims, she said, go into shock after their sexual assault. Unfortunately, it’s the responsibility of victims to “do all the heavy work. We’re in this mindset that as victims we’re supposed to keep going and pretend it’s OK because of what kind of crime it was.
If you saw your friend get in a car accident and they’re bruised for weeks and have physical damage for months, you want them to take it easy. But because of the type of crime against us, it’s kind of, like, hushed. And you’re supposed to keep moving forward.”
Ruth Harms, president of the Zonta Club, said in 2023 there were more than 51,000 women killed by intimate partners across the globe. “That is 51,000 people too many,” she said.
She hopes to see good community support at the candlelight vigil.
“We’re just trying to get the word out to help people understand we want more community involvement,” Harms said. “We would like to get more involvement from local industries and local government. We want people to recognize that these are matters that need to be addressed.
“And it’s not only local,” she said. “We need people to learn to support one another and help those who are victims to have the courage to come forward.”
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