Moncton woman shares personal story to help other sexual assault survivors

A Moncton woman says sharing her story of being a sexual assault survivor has opened the door to helping others.

Marie-Hélène Michaud posted a video to her Facebook page in French this time last year. In the video, she reveals that she was sexually assaulted as a child and also at the age of 17.

“It was the biggest step of my life to tell them and it was really hard,” she told Global News.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It was the biggest step of my life to tell them and it was really hard," she told Global News.

Her video has been viewed nearly 40,000 times and she says she hopes speaking out will encourage other victims to come forward, and perhaps prevent future abuses.

“I didn’t see myself as a victim for years. I thought I was to blame. I went to this place and I really felt ashamed for doing that,” she said.

On Friday, dozens of men sported high heels for the annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event to raise awareness for gender-based violence.

The chair of the fundraiser, Dwayne Hayes, says the event is meant to help others understand what victims go through.

READ: N.B. centre marks 25 years of ‘changing the conversation’ around family violence

“That one mile in a pair of women’s shoes, although it is physically painful for a brief time, it doesn’t even compare to the scope of what women deal with in the longterm, physically, mentally and emotionally,” he said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "That one mile in a pair of women's shoes, although it is physically painful for a brief time, it doesn't even compare to the scope of what women deal with in the longterm, physically, mentally and emotionally," he said.

It’s a cause Michaud supports and hopes others will too.

“You can never really walk a mile in her shoes but you can definitely support and talk about it,” Michaud said.

With files from Shelley Steeves