Club to honor Miss Earth Guam for speaking out

Lannie Walker | The Guam Daily Post Nov 14, 2018 Updated 4 hrs ago

WELCOME: Emma Sheedy, Miss Earth Guam, left, welcomes Japanese tourists after they arrive on Guam via Japan Airlines' inaugural second daily flight at the A.B. Won Pat International Airport on March 25. Post file photo

Miss Earth Guam Emma Sheedy will be honored by the University of Guam Public Administration and Legal Studies Club for speaking out about sexual misconduct she said she experienced allegedly by one of the sponsors for the recent international pageant in Manila.

“As (the) Public Administration and Legal Studies Club, this is what we stand for, this is what our careers are working up toward to prevent: People with power taking advantage of their position and thinking they can get what they want and basically take advantage of these women like they are objects. Women are not objects,” said club President Ashley Caitlyn Babauta.

Babauta said by speaking out, Sheedy will help other women, especially young women on Guam, feel more empowered to do the same. 

“I found it very courageous because most women don’t have the courage to stand up to something like this; in most cases, they would blame themselves. For her to take the initiative and stand up for an issue like this is very commendable on her part,” Babauta said.

The club plans to present Sheedy with a certificate, and is challenging “all our elected leaders to also recognize her courage.”

Coming forward will also help stop this kind of abuse in the future, said Babauta. 

“For this instance, I thought it was very appropriate for her to speak out because I would not want this to happen to anybody else,” Babauta said.

Sheedy posted on Instagram that a male sponsor from the Manila Yacht Club grabbed her “bare backside.” The pageant concluded earlier this month.

The pageant organizer, Carousel Productions, has issued a statement that it has launched an investigation into the claims made by England's and Canada's delegates to the pageant, which are similar to Sheedy's.

Sheedy has stated her allegation also is under investigation.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/club-to-honor-miss-earth-guam-for-speaking-out/article_d560c194-e724-11e8-944b-675220ac2a15.html