Photo: Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images for Fashion Media
Jodie Sweetinhas opened about a sexual assault encounter.
On Thursday, in light of Christine Blasey Ford’semotional testimonyat the Supreme Court hearing, Sweetinspoke out in support about her own experience on Instagram.
Wearing a camouflage jacket with the words “What doesn’t kill you f—s you up mentally” written on the back, Sweetin explained to her followers why she supports and identifies with Ford.
“I stand with her. I AM her,” theFuller Houseactress wrote. “I was the girl who never reported because I blamed myself. I was the woman who never reported because I didn’t want to go through the pain and ridicule.”
“What we saw today is about a much bigger issue of survivors of sexual assault being persecuted, judged and re-traumatized when they do come forward,” Sweetin, 36, continued. “We are told that if it were “real,” we would have reported it at the time. Often when we were merely children or young girls.”
Jodie Sweetin/Instagram
Giving examples of what these young girls have to endure if they do speak out, Sweetin — who is currently themother of twodaughtersZoie Laurel May, 10, andBeatrix Carlin, 8 — came to a simple conclusion: “It was easier to stay quiet.”
“As we grew older and it happened again, we had been trained to remain silent,” she continued. “We had learned the lesson that no one will believe us. That even if someone DOES, it holds no consequence. We had watched other women come forward, only to be told “there were no witnesses, so it’s your word against his, knowing that “his” story is always more believed than “hers”.”
“I will not sit still. I will not stay quiet,” she wrote. “Although I may never be as brave or as unflinching in the face of such an inquisition as she was today, it has given me hope. That maybe, just maybe, female survivors of sexual assault may be heard. Even if our voice is barely above a whisper.”
Gabriel Olsen/FilmMagic
Sweetin is among several other prominent female figures who have recently spoken out in light of the Kavanaugh court hearing.
Earlier on Thursday,Patti Murin— who plays the role of Princess Anna in the Broadway version ofFrozen— revealed on Twitter that she was date-raped when she was 24. In her tweet, the Broadway star, now 38, explained to her followers why she didn’t report her sexual assault that occurred more than 10 years ago.
“Why didn’t I say anything or report it? Because I was casually dating each of them and I didn’t think anyone would believe me,” she wrote. “I didn’t even believe myself until years later.”
Also on Thursday,Busy Philippsshared an emotional message on Instagram saying that she wasraped when she was 14. Philipps, now 39, used a school photo of herself, snapped when she was that same age, to go along with her revelation.
“This is me at 14. The age I was raped,” Philipps wrote. “It’s taken me 25 years to say those words. I wrote about it in my book. I finally told my parents and sister about it 4 months ago.”
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Supporters includingAlyssa Milano,Padma Lakshmi, andLili Reinhartall slammed Trump’s sentiment on social media using the hashtag.
“Hey, @realDonaldTrump, Listen the f— up,” Milano, 45, wrote. “I was sexually assaulted twice. Once when I was a teenager. I never filed a police report and it took me 30 years to tell my parents.”
TheInsatiableactress, who is involved with the#MeToo campaign, then encouraged other sexual assault victims to follow her lead.
“If any survivor of sexual assault would like to add to this please do so in the replies. #MeToo.”
source: people.com
