Evan Rachel Wood is too "afraid" to name her rapists.
The ‘Westworld’ actress revealed last year she had been sexually attacked on two occasions, once by an ex-boyfriend, and once by a "bar owner" and she has now admitted it had taken seven years to come to terms with her ordeal.
And the 30-year-old star has admitted she has kept silent about their identities because they are "very powerful, very rich, very entitled, and very narcissistic white men."
In a lengthy video posted online, 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.
She said: "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."
But she did reveal she has named them privately to "everybody" she knows, though she just doesn’t feel "ready" to speak out publicly.
She said: 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.
"I should not be punished for that. The fact that women are still afraid to name their abusers is not their fault."
Evan admitted she has previously walked out of awards shows after seeing
"abusers and sexual predators" walk on stage and "accept a statue.".
The actress – who also said she’d heard "numerous stories" about disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by a number of women – ended her video with a powerful statement urging society to change.
She said: "We need to make people feel safe enough to come forward. You shouldn’t have to weigh your livelihood, your job, everything you’ve ever worked for, your reputation, your friends, your safety. That’s why women don’t come forward.
"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."
Evan Rachel Wood afraid to name rapists
