Abigail Breslin has opened up for the first time about something especially difficult and personal.
With April having been deemed Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the young actress has taken to Instagram in order to let others know they are not alone:
She was once the victim of a sexual assault.
The 20-year old actress, most recently seen on the Fox TV show Scream Queens, shared an image on Tuesday night that reads as follows:
“You are not obligated to have sex with someone that you’re in a relationship with. Dating is not consent. Marriage is not consent.”
Breslin then revealed this tragic incident from her past via her caption, which reads:
“I knew my assailant. #SexualAssaultAwarenessMonth #breakthesilence.”
The former child star also featured the comment as a pinned tweet, and has elicited a number of thoughtful responses from fans as a result.
She has also received support from her fellow celebrities, many of whom have written to her on social media.
Take Sarah Hyland and Debra Messing, for instance.
“Proud of you Abs,” the 26-year old Modern Family star wrote to her friend, while Messing (who will portray Breslin’s mother in the upcoming Dirty Dancing remake) added:
“I love you, Abbie. Your strength and testimony means so much to too many. #voice.”
Among those who appreciated Breslin’s honesty was an individual who can sadly relate to what Breslin and many other women have gone through in this area of life.
“My boyfriend in high school sexually abused me for a year. I was 17. I’m now 24 and I’m just now realizing what he did to me was abuse,” wrote one commenter on Instagram.
“I wanted to wait for marriage, but he used his love for me as an argument to get me to have sex with him. He would guilt me into it. This still haunts me to this day.
“Thank you for sharing this. It’s so important.”
Wrote another Instagram user in response to Breslin’s post:
“ik how you feel. An old friend tried to do the same to me and i haven’t told anyone about it cause i was young at the time.”
The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence estimates that 14 to 25 percent of women will be sexually assaulted by a partner they know.
On Wednesday morning, Breslin took note of her endless positive replies and followed-up with the following Tweet:
“So beyond thankful by the immense support regarding my IG post last night. I am so lucky to have all of you kind souls in my corner.”
We join everyone else online who has sent their well wishes and their many props to Abigail Breslin.
We thank her for her honesty and her openness and we’re so very sorry she went through this experience.
