R.I. beauty queen resigned over safety fears
Anea Garcia says she was sexually assaulted while representing the Miss Gwand International Organization in South Sudan.
Anea Garcia at the 2015 Miss USA pageant in Baton Rouge, La.
PHOTO/ AP FILE
Anea Garcia at the 2015 Miss USA pageant in Baton Rouge, La.
Former Miss Gwand International Anea Garcia announced in a statement Wednesday that she resigned from the position and was not forced out of the job, as the organization had announced last week.
"I felt as though my safety, well-being, and future were at stake," said Garcia, 21, a former Miss Rhode Island and current student at Roger Williams University.
Garcia said she was sexually assaulted while representing the Miss Gwand International Organization in South Sudan. When she informed the organization, she said it "showed no concern."
She added that she was required to travel alone to foreign countries without a contact person or escort.
The Miss Gwand International Organization could not immediately be reached for comment.
On Saturday, Teresa Chaivisut, vice president of the Thailand-based Miss Gwand International Organization, wrote in an email to the Journal that Garcia "could not uphold her duty as MGI queen and demanded more services which is additional to the original contractual agreement."
The organization said last week that "her studies were in the way" and she was "demanding" and "disrespectful."
Garcia added that it was a hard decision for her to make.
"MGI is a fairly new organization, the role of the queen and the organization is still developing," she wrote. "While I fully understand the responsibility to complete my reign because I made a commitment, I also felt it was important to stand up for myself."
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