Actress Abigail Breslin has opened up about rape. April, known as Sexual Assault Awareness month, empowered Breslin to open up about her unreported rape. The actress shared a post on Instagram, stating: “Consent II: you are not obligated to have sex with someone that you’re in a relationship with; dating is not consent; marriage is not consent.”
The actress’ post states: “I knew my assailant #SexualAssaultAwarenessMonth #breakthesilence.”
The actress’ fans flocked to her side to show support, but one commenter replied, “Reported rapes are the only rapes that count.”
The comment led to Breslin adding a new post to her account, outlining the user’s comment and responding, “I did not report my rape. I didn’t report it because of many reasons.” The actress continued, “First off, I was in complete and total denial. I didn’t want to view myself as a victim, so I suppressed it and pretended it never happened.”
The actress states that she was in a relationship with the assailant and thought no one would believe her.
She continued on, telling fans that she has PTSD and was diagnosed with the condition a year and a half ago.
“Unreported rapes count. Reported rapes count. End of story,” she wrote.
Breslin joins singer Lady Gaga who revealed on the Today Show that she was raped by a music producer. The singer also suffers from PTSD following the rape. Gaga has said, “I am still in so much pain.” The singer told her fans a year prior that it made her “question everything.”
Gaga’s rape occurred when she was just 19 years of age.
The singer, much like Breslin, questioned whether she did anything wrong or did something to provoke the rape. Gaga knew her assailant as well.
Gabrielle Union, Madonna, Oprah, Jane Fonda, Ashley Judd, Tyler Perry, Fiona Apple and dozens of other celebrities shared their stories to raise awareness for sexual assault and rape.
