Cara Delevingne reveals why she didn't report sexual abuse
‘I didn’t want to publicly ruin someone’s life, even though they privately ruined mine’
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Cara Delevingne has revealed why she didn’t report being sexually abused, explaining that she felt “ashamed” about the ordeal.
Over the past week, thousands of people have been tweeting using the hashtag “#WhyIDidntReport” to share why they didn’t immediately go to the authorities after being sexually abused.
The hashtag started gaining popularity after Donald Trump questioned the validity of the accusations of sexual misconduct made against US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Celebrities including Mira Sorvino and Ashley Judd have used the hashtag to tweet about their experiences, explaining that they didn’t think their accusations would have been taken seriously.
Delevingne has now also joined in the discussion, saying that she had worried about the consequences that reporting her assault would have had on the livelihood of her attacker.
“Because I felt ashamed of what happened and didn’t want to publicly ruin someone’s life, even though they privately ruined mine #WhyIDidntReport”, she tweeted.
A number of people have responded to Delevingne’s tweet, expressing their support and admiration for the model and actor.
“I’m sorry, no one should have to go through what you and all these other women are going through. Ever,” one person wrote.
“This is exactly why I haven’t reported my abuser! It thought I was the only one who felt like you,” another person tweeted in response.
“I thought I was warped for protecting him. Thank you Cara.”
In October last year, Delevingne alleged that disgraced former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein had made unwanted sexual advances towards her while in a hotel room.
Having felt “powerless” against Weinstein’s requests for her to go to his hotel room, he had then tried to have Delevingne kiss another woman before forcefully attempting to kiss her on the lips.
“I was so hesitant about speaking out… I didn’t want to hurt his family,” Delevingne wrote on Instagram.
“I felt guilty as if I did something wrong.
“I was also so terrified that this sort of thing had happened to so many women I know but no one had said anything because of fear."
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