woman attempted suicide after being rape in her house

 

Annalynne McCord has stop blaming herself for her experience as a rape victim

The 29 year old actress gave an interview to BBC in honor of International Women’s Day. In her interview she spoke again about her assault and what she has learned now that could help other survivors.

At the time, McCord was just 18-years-old and living in Los Angeles where she was pursuing a career as an actress. Though she had grown up the pastor’s daughter in a devoutly Christian household, she had also experienced strict discipline from her parents as a child.

Recounting the incident, McCord noted how her rape happened in a different way than those often described by society.

“I was never raped in these scenarios they tell you you’re going to get raped in,” she said. “I was in my own home. Let a friend come stay at my place because [he] needed to crash. And I woke up to find my Southern hospitality, if you want to call it that, was being greatly taken advantage of. I woke up, and he was inside me  and my whole body shut down.”

Leaving home at 15, she admits to going “a little crazy-wild in New York, dancing on tables wearing little miniskirts.”

Those things combined made her feel responsible for her own rape — though she admits now “how I dress does not mean yes.”

“For 10 years I thought it was my fault,” she said. “I didn’t fight back. I found out recently through my studies of neuroscience that my body completely shut everything down and wouldn’t let me fight back because I thought that was the only way to cope with abuse.” 

After the incident happened, McCord said she completely shut down.

I pretended like it didn’t occur and went on with my life,” she explained. “I thought I was fine and continued ‘living,’ if you want to call that living.”

“I became very, very dark,” she added. “Suicidal. Self-harming – cutting up my arms.”

“I did months and months of episodes,” McCord continued. “I was in to a second season of the storyline when I had a moment on set and what happened to me all came back in a flash.”

Since then, she hasn’t looked back, first revealing her story in a May 2014 Cosmopolitan piece and since taking her message to college campuses with her short film, I Choose. 

“The support has been amazing,” she said “You think in your head that the opposite is going to happen. You think that you’ll be shamed and there will be even more degradation, humiliation. And the opposite has been apparent. But what’s even more important than that to me has been the outreach from survivors who are telling me their stories.”

She said thousands victims have reach out to her about their own experiences through emails that she personally takes the time to answer.

 “It’s okay” is something McCord had to tell herself a lot in the wake of her revelation. But after years of dealing with self-worth and self-esteem issues, she said she’s finally at a place where she is happy with herself and hopes others who were victims of sexual assault also get on the long road to recovery.

my opinion

if she had known she wouldn't have allowed him sleep in the same room/house with him. she trusted him as a friend but he was never a friend. i will not blame her for being hospitable. what has happen has happen and there is nothing she could do about it.

this is a  very big lesson to  other women, no matter how friendly you are to a man, don't bring him to sleep in your room. 

thank God she has move on with her life.