Evan Rachel Wood explains why she can't name men who sexually abused
'Westworld' actress Evan Rachel Wood has finally opened up about her sexual abusers and admitted that she is still too afraid to reveal their identities.
Last year, the 30-year-old actress revealed that she had been sexually attacked on two occasions, once by an ex-boyfriend, and once by a bar owner and now, in a video posted on YouTube, the 30-year-old actress revealed that it took her seven years to come to terms with her ordeal.
In the video, the actress admitted that she has been silent about their identities, because they are "very powerful, very rich, very entitled, and very narcissistic white men."
She said, "I haven't named my abusers for a number of reasons. One. I'm one person against some very powerful people. Two. Money and time and re-traumatising yourself. To go after the person who assaulted you takes quite a toll. It is a terrifying thing to have to go through, mainly because you are at risk of not being believed, your career being hurt, being drained of your finances -- because it costs a lot of money to file a lawsuit and go to court with somebody."
"'Especially if all you have is your word against theirs and especially if these are very powerful people. Once again you're at the mercy of your abusers and you've kicked a hornet's nest. And you have a target on your back."
The 'Wrestler' actress admitted it is hard to leave her abusers unnamed, but her fear of them and facing people, who wouldn't believe her is too much.
"Maybe this is an irrational fear, but I don't think it is. What I can tell you is it's because sometimes the act is so traumatising, or you're so ashamed of it or you're so confused by it or you're so scared of your perpetrators, you're silenced ... sometimes for years, sometimes your whole life," noted Wood.
But she did reveal she has named them privately to everybody she knows, though she just doesn't feel ''ready'' to speak out publically.
Wood noted, "I name them to everybody that I know. But as far as welcoming the media and lawyers and the courts into this ... and this is a hard thing to say because I feel we have a responsibility to name our abusers so that it doesn't happen to other people, but I am not ready to go through that and to relive those things and to face those people."
The 'Ides of March' star ended the video with a powerful statement urging society to change.
"These are the two things keeping women from telling their stories: No faith in the system that it will actually work for them and fear of their perpetrators. I'm not ashamed to say that I'm not ready to come forth with the names, because I'm here to identify a problem. I'm here to tell you that I'm afraid and I don't think that's my fault. I'm here to tell you that I'm afraid so that we can identify the problem," shared Wood.
-ANI
First published: 13 October 2017, 10:22 IST