Clark State to host domestic violence survivor attacked with sulfuric acid
Clark State College is helping to bring awareness to domestic violence with a program that features a woman who survived being attacked with acid.
The college’s Sexual Violence Prevention Team will host speaker Christy Sims, a domestic violence survivor who gained national attention after her ex-boyfriend “severely disfigured her by dousing her with sulfuric acid.”
Sims will deliver a message on “Empowering Yourself Beyond Intimate Partner Violence” at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 12, in the college’s Brinkman Education Center, room 403, 100 S. Limestone St. in Springfield.
The team is honored to bring Sims to the campus and community, said Melinda Van Noord, counseling coordinator.
“She has shared her powerful message of survival and hope with millions worldwide, and her strong advocacy for victims of domestic violence has surely saved many lives,” she said.
Sims, an Atlanta native with two children, is a public speaker, author, a nationally certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor, and a survivor of and advocate against domestic violence.
Sims’ life changed on April 28, 2013, when her ex-boyfriend attacked her with acid. She sustained third- and fourth-degree burns to over 20% of her body, including her entire face, neck, chest and arms.
After the incident, Sims remained in an induced coma for two months and had numerous lifesaving surgeries at the Grady Burn Unit in Atlanta. She eventually emerged from the coma with “a resolve to survive, to return to her children and to pursue the prosecution of her abuser.” After a two-year fight, her abuser was brought to justice on July 17, 2015.
To date, Sims has undergone 13 surgeries to reconstruct her disfigured face and body, and
her personal struggle has pushed her to advocate and support other domestic violence survivors.
Sims is the first reported case of an acid attack in the state of Georgia.
Those who want to attend the event are encouraged to RSVP by contacting Van Noord at vannoordm@clarkstate.edu or 937-328-7961. For disability accommodations, contact accessiblity@clarkstate.edu.