Celebrities and civilians are continuing to come forward with their own stories on why they did not report sexual assault, a response to President Donald Trump’s questioning on why Christine Blasey Ford did not file a police report regarding her alleged groping by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Twitter has erupted with #WhyIDidntReport confessions since Trump’s tweet, as Alyssa Milano, Ashley Judd, Padma Lakshmi and others detailed their reasons for silence following incidents.
On Friday, former President Ronald Reagan’s daughter Patti Davis also detailed her assault in a Washington Post op-ed, claiming she was raped by a music executive almost 40 years ago. She also said she didn’t report the incident.
Many of those revealing their personal journeys cited the poor treatment of others who had been more forthcoming.
#MeToo leader Alyssa Milano has shared her own reasons before asking fellow survivors to share their own stories. “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 me parents.”
Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi revealed three experiences with sexual assault, and said why she stayed silent each time. Lakshmi said her first encounter happened when she was age seven, and her parents sent her away when she talked to them about it.
Ashley Judd also had her own assault at age 7
“The first time it happened, I was 7. I told the first adults I came upon. They said “Oh, he’s a nice old man, that’s not what he meant”,’ tweeted activist Ashley Judd. “So when I was raped at 15, I only told my diary. When an adult read it, she accused me of having sex with an adult man,’ she said.
