Beth Duckett

The Arizona Republic

Sept. 16, 2006

Miss Arizona 2006 stood confidently at the lectern and began to speak.

"I am a rape survivor, and I am not ashamed of that," Hilary Griffith told a group of prison inmates.

In a not-so-typical pageant choice, the beauty queen has made rape awareness and recovery her platform since winning the crown in June. Griffith figured that people needed to talk about what has widely been considered a taboo subject. advertisement

So, now, it is her mission to talk about that night in November 2004 when, as a 19-year-old sophomore at Arizona State University, she was raped in her apartment.

This week, 21 inmates at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Florence sat and listened to Griffith as part of a class to help the men better understand the consequences of their crimes and to see the impact from a victim's perspective.

They grew silent as the smartly dressed Griffith walked to the podium in the prison visitation room. The smell of harsh cleaning liquid filled the room. Vending machines hummed steadily. Besides a set of diplomas and "thank you" cards from schoolchildren, the room was unadorned.

A look of poise came over Miss Arizona's face.

"There were a lot of times I wanted to roll up in a ball and cry," Griffith told the inmates. "I felt like a 6-year-old because I was so scared."

She told them about the impact of sexual assault. She talked about how it feels to be violated and have nowhere to turn.

She described how to overcome adversity and rise above the unfortunate circumstances in life.

The inmates listened intently. Some nodded in understanding.

"I think it was awesome," inmate John Mulligan, 43, said when Griffith was done speaking. "I'm here for endangerment, for reckless driving under the influence of drugs. And as I was in my active drug use, it made me think that I was the only one hurting myself; that there were no victims.

"This class has given me the opportunity to look on the other side of this and ask, 'What am I doing to others? What am I doing to the community? What am I doing to society?'"

Speaking out has been helpful for her, too, Griffith said.

"It really helped me through my recovery process because the more you speak about it, the more in tune you are with what you're going through and how you need to deal with the issues.

"That's why I encourage other survivors to speak out, if not publicly, then to at least find someone they trust and can talk to about it."

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