Evan Rachel Wood delivers emotional Capitol Hill testimony
Actress Evan Rachel Wood presented an emotional testimony detailing two instances where she was raped and tortured, to DC law makers during a hearing for the Sexual Assault Survivors Bill.
Actress Evan Rachel Wood presented an emotional testimony on Capitol Hill, detailing two instances in which she was raped and one in which she was also tortured.
On Tuesday, during a hearing for the Sexual Assault Survivors Bill, the "Westworld" actress opened up about her agonizing experience with a five-minute statement in front of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations.
“I thought I was the only human who experienced this, and I carried so much guilt and confusion about my response to the abuse,” Wood said. “I accepted my powerlessness, and I felt I deserved it somehow.”
The 30-year-old actress shared harrowing details of her alleged assault that she said resulted in years of PTSD, addiction and depression.
"While I was tied up and being beaten and told unspeakable things, I truly felt like I could die. Not just because my abuser said to me, ‘I could kill you right now,’ but because in that moment I felt like I left my body and I was too afraid to run."
Evan Rachel Wood as Dolores in "Westworld." (HBO)
Traumatized, Wood admitted that her depression escalated to the point where she considered taking her own life.
“I struggled with self-harm to the point of two suicide attempts, which landed me in a psychiatric hospital for a short period of time. This was, however, a turning point in my life, when I started seeking professional help to deal with my trauma and mental stress,” Wood said.
Wood was joined by other women on Capitol Hill who shared their stories about sexual assault in order to push for the Sexual Assault Survivors Bill in all 50 states. In 2016 the bill became law in nine states.
“[This bill is] the recognition of basic civil rights for sexual assault survivors and serves as a first step,” Wood said. “It’s a safety net that may help save someone’s life one day.”
Wood at 2017 the Met Gala. (Reuters)
The star, who made headlines early on in her career for her relationship with Marilyn Manson, first revealed in 2016 that she had been raped twice.
She shared a lengthy letter she wrote to Rolling Stone on Twitter, which detailed the incidents she spoke of on Capitol Hill.
“Yes. I have been raped,” Wood wrote. “By a significant other while we were together, and on a separate occasion, by the owner of a bar.”
The actress at the 2015 Toronto Film Festival. (Reuters)
Wood went on to explain why she stayed silent following the incidents.
"The first time I was unsure that if it was done by a partner it was still in fact rape, until too late.
“And the second time, I thought it was my fault and that I should have fought back more, but I was scared,” Wood wrote. “This was many many years ago, and I of course know now neither one was my fault and neither one was okay."
Later in 2017, Wood addressed the reasoning for why she had not named her perpetrators in a 14-minute YouTube video.
"My perpetrators were very powerful, very rich, very entitled, very narcissistic white men. 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-traumatizing yourself to go after the person that assaulted you takes quite a toll," Wood stated in the video.
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